How do you build and sustain a skilled, resilient alternative 911 response team?
Since launching services in 2022, Durham’s Community Safety Department (DCSD) has become a model for 911 crisis response programs across the country. Durham’s response teams — collectively known as Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Teams (HEART) — send trained, unarmed mental health professionals to respond to community members experiencing mental health crises or quality of life concerns. DCSD’s Stabilization Services Division houses several programs that work to connect neighbors with longer-term resources.
DCSD is staffed by professionals with varied expertise and skill backgrounds, including social workers, EMTs, data analysts, and peer support specialists. Over the past four years, DCSD has grown to a workforce of 83 employees. DCSD’s approach to hiring, training, and building a strong team culture can serve as a model for similar programs across the country.
Photo by Cornell Watson
The Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab (GPL) has provided technical assistance and research support to DCSD over the past four years. We asked leaders in Durham to walk us through their approach to the following key staffing questions:
Hiring: In an emerging field without an established pipeline, how do you recruit and select the right people to staff your programs?
Training: How do you prepare your alternative response workforce to effectively handle the wide range of calls they may encounter?
Retention & Culture: In a role that regularly exposes staff to stress and trauma, how do you create a supportive culture that fosters well-being and retention?
Collaboration: How do you build cohesive, multidisciplinary teams that work well together in high-stress scenarios?
This publication is the fourth in the GPL’s Innovations in 911 Response series that spotlights Durham’s approach to creating and operating an alternative response program. Click hereto read the other publications about starting a program, using data, and selecting call codes and dispatch procedures.
DCSD is a space where people can speak up and ask questions. Leadership encourages open-mindedness and values different perspectives and experiences— both professional and personal—which allows people to meaningfully contribute to the department. That inclusivity helps retention. Every workplace has pros and cons, but here, people know their voices are heard, their input matters, and they have opportunities to grow.Delilah Kelley
Training and Hiring Specialist, Durham Community Safety Department
DCSD is a space where people can speak up and ask questions. Leadership encourages open-mindedness and values different perspectives and experiences— both professional and personal—which allows people to meaningfully contribute to the department. That inclusivity helps retention. Every workplace has pros and cons, but here, people know their voices are heard, their input matters, and they have opportunities to grow.Delilah Kelley
