birminghamal.gov
A new program focused on serving homeless Birmingham residents will now handle non-emergency calls that had been handled by the police department.
Urban Alchemy is joining the City of Birmingham to launch HEART, The Homeless Engagement Assistance Response Team (HEART), to respond to non-emergency situations involving homeless residents.
“Food and shelter are human rights,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin. “Instead of dispatching law enforcement officers to address these basic needs, HEART Birmingham’s team of compassionate, specially-trained professionals will support our unhoused residents and connect them with resources they desperately need and most certainly deserve.”
Urban Alchemy, which operates similar programs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, will respond to non-emergency 911 and 311 calls relating to homeless residents.
“Our team brings lived experience, empathy, and the ability to read potentially explosive situations,” said Artie Gilbert, the Director of the Birmingham HEART program. “We meet each situation and person where they are, de-escalate, and do our best to connect them to resources that can help transform their lives.”
Urban Alchemy has had success de-escalating situations involving unhoused people because many of the team members have faced similar challenges themselves. More than 90 percent of Urban Alchemy’s team has overcome long-term incarceration, homelessness, mental illness, and/or drug addiction and have said they joined the organization because they wanted to give back and offer others the same help they needed or wanted.
HEART team members will contact emergency services directly when they respond to a call that becomes violent or requires medical intervention.
The HEART program launched on Jan. 6 and employs nearly 20 people. Teams will respond to calls from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
