Valley Regional Fire Authority’s CARES program sends social workers and care navigators to support people who repeatedly call 911 for non‑urgent needs, Chief Bridal Thompson said.

Thompson described CARES — Community Assistance, Referrals, and Education Services — as a team that currently includes four social workers, care navigators through a partnership with HealthPoint and interns from local colleges. Firefighters refer low‑acuity or repeat callers to the CARES team, which helps connect people to housing, addiction treatment, ongoing medical care and other services. “These social workers and care navigators…go out to low acuity or repeat…people that call 911 repeatedly,” Thompson said.

Thompson told a specific success story: a woman who called 911 more than 60 times in a year was connected to coordinated medical and behavioral health care, meal and transportation services, reconnected with home caregivers and received cataract surgery; since the fall prior to the interview she had not called 911. “Since last fall, she has not called 911 one time,” Thompson said, describing the result as both life changing for the individual and freeing emergency resources for true emergencies.

Thompson said the model reduces pressure on emergency responders by routing people to longer‑term solutions, but he cautioned that continued funding is uncertain and that VRFA is pursuing grants and county resources to sustain and expand the program.

Ending: Thompson said VRFA is exploring ways to pair a firefighter with social workers during some follow‑ups so crews can release apparatus more quickly and return to service.