NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Since November of 2022, New Haven has been testing out a new initiative called Elm City COMPASS (Compassionate Allies Serving Our Streets). Created after the murder of George Floyd, the concept involves a team of social workers, clinicians, and peer counselors who respond alongside police and fire. The workers are not armed.
It’s meant to supplement their response and help those dealing with things like homelessness, substance use disorders, and mental health issues.
“We are starting to now bridge all the services. I think everyone’s doing their own part and now we’re able to kind of connect those together and find out who’s doing what so we’re not double dipping,” said Jennifer Vargas, Clinician and Supervisor with Elm City COMPASS.
Vargas said she can feel COMPASS starting to build a rapport with the community, and people are starting to recognize them, trust them, and take advantage of their help. The relationships with police and providers in the area, she said, are only growing.
“It’s nonverbal, so they step up and we step back, and vice versa. There’s times that police will look at us for expertise because it’s not something they’re used to,” Vargas said.
Vargas said the numbers are showing that the program is working. During Phase One (which ran from Nov. 2022 to June 30th, 2023), COMPASS completed 537 crisis responses. Of those responses, 38% were to 911 calls. 62% were self-deployed outreach.
“So, in addition to when there’s a 911 call that comes in and police or fire have chosen to call in the COMPASS team, they’ve done a lot of their self-response as well. So, there’s a lot of people that have been benefitting in the community that haven’t even been calling 911,” said New Haven Mayor, Justin Elicker.
And when it comes to those responses, Elicker said 61% of the people needed assistance due to mental health or substance use challenges. 39% needed resources and support related to housing and other needs.
Those responses, Elicker said, also cut down response times for police and fire, so they could focus on other calls. The average amount of time saved for police on the scene was 19 minutes per dispatch. For fire, that number sits at 11 minutes per dispatch. But for first responders, it’s the expertise they offer that helps them out.
“For the officers, I can speak that, at least they have a different avenue to go instead of just clearing that scene and thinking, ‘I didn’t do anything, you know, I didn’t help them at all,’” said Chief Karl Jacobson with the New Haven Police Dept.
Now, in Phase Two, which started on July 1st of 2023, COMPASS can respond without the assistance of police, in cases where it makes sense.
“I had the pleasure of sitting with the dispatchers and training them. And also, getting training from them about the questions that they ask before we even get to the call. So that is comforting knowing that there’s a list of questions they go through before we even get there so there’s no risk of safety for anyone who’s involved,” Vargas said.
On top of responding alone, the team is also expanding its hours. Under the new plan, there are two teams that work from 8 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week rather than the previous hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. And they’re only getting started.
“It makes me feel good. You know we’re actually seeing change. I think when you get that thank you from folks saying, ‘Hey, look what I’m doing.’ You know that’s the biggest thing because sometimes you forget when you’re in it. And then when you get that call, ‘hey I’m doing well,’ it feels good,” Vargas said.
There is one problem that the team runs into, and it’s access to housing and resources. Vargas said they need more housing options in New Haven and across the state.
Mayor Elicker is asking for the community’s help to make that happen.
“The community can be open to more treatment centers in your community, more housing deeply affordable housing in your community. The ultimate way that we’re going to address this is by addressing the routes of the problem. And oftentimes we see out there that people say, ‘Well that service should be provided in another neighborhood, not mine.’ The community needs to be open to be part of the solution,” Elicker said.
The COMPASS team is available and ready to respond to calls for help. Contact 911 for emergencies, 988 for suicide prevention or other crisis services, or 211 for essential community services.
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