St. Pete’s unarmed first responders have begun answering calls without police present

In the final phase of the CALL rollout, St. Petersburg’s team of unarmed first responders began answering calls in late May without on-site assistance from the St. Pete Police Department.

The city approved an $850,000 budget for the Community Assistance and Life Liaison (CALL) program earlier this year, in an effort to shift responsibility for drug and mental health-related 911 calls from police to social workers. 

Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services runs the program, in cooperation with the city and police department, and is responsible for employing and training CALL workers, known as navigators. 

Since February, navigators have been responding to calls in which 911 operators use their best judgement to decide whether armed police are necessary. But up until May, they still rode alongside SPD’s PATH (Police Assisting the Homeless) Unit, to get a better understanding of St. Pete’s geography and population.

Travis Atchison, program director for CALL, explained that since phasing out the police presence was always part of their plan, navigators have been adapting well. 

“I don’t think anybody was very nervous,” Atchison said. “I think it was more of a ‘we’re gonna miss riding along with our St. Pete partners.’ I think they developed a good rapport and good relationships with some of the officers that we were working directly with, so there was a little heartache in that regard.”

Megan McGee, special projects manager for the SPD who oversees officers’ involvement with CALL, also says the transition has been smooth.

“We’ve really communicated that this was the direction that we were moving in,” McGee said. “And we’ve had this gradual phasing of (CALL’s) independent response, which has really given us a lot of opportunities to address concerns … and have this gradual rollout.”

McGee explained that when 911 operators alert navigators to an emergency situation, team leaders from the CALL program become connected to the SPD communication center, which can send law enforcement officers to assist upon the team’s request. And if a call seems too risky, Atchison says CALL can deny it and ask 911 to send police instead. 

Before they went independent, navigators also rode in police vehicles when responding to calls. Now, they use their personal vehicles. Atchison proudly said he drives his 2012 Toyota Camry while working in the field.

Many of the situations CALL responds to are people experiencing mental health crises, but they also assist in situations of domestic dispute, drugs, homelessness and truancy. Navigators are trained in conflict de-escalation, and will often form relationships with the people they respond to. 

After CALL is dispatched to an individual in need, that person receives a direct line to the navigators, in case they need future assistance but don’t want to call 911. 

This September, the city will decide whether to renew their contract with Gulf Coast Jewish and continue the CALL program. Atchison says that based on how his staff is performing so far, he’s confident they will.