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Greensboro behavioral health response team outlines services, seeks broader 24/7 coverage
Summary
Members of Greensboro's Behavioral Health Response Team (BHRT) described how the co-response unit pairs trained behavioral-health staff with specialized officers to respond to crises, described services and outreach, and said the team hopes to expand to seven-days-a-week coverage though funding and timing remain unspecified.
Rodney Dalton's Talk City Greensboro interviewed members of Greensboro's Behavioral Health Response Team to explain how the city's co-response model works and what it would take to expand service hours.
Ebony Pittman, crisis counselor for the BHRT in the Community Safety Department, said the unit's motto is "the right responder at the right time in the right situation," and described a mix of programs that includes a peer-led bridge program, a law-enforcement diversion track and a homeless outreach coordinator. "We respond out to people in mental health crisis," Pittman said. "Our department houses five different programs."
Kevin Brooks, community outreach coordinator, described BHRT's approach as relationship-driven and focused on preventing criminalization of people in crisis. "It's just a feeling that I get when you're able to help others that are in need," Brooks said. He and Pittman said the team emphasizes listening, building rapport and connecting people to resources rather than immediately involving arresting officers. "A lot of times, the calls and referrals I respond to, they don't really want the police involved," Brooks said.
Brooks explained that interested residents can do ride-alongs to see the work first-hand and that he typically follows up on referrals after the unit's shift ends. The BHRT currently operates Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to midnight; Brooks said officers cover crisis calls outside those hours. "We should be seven days, 24/7," he said when asked about expanding coverage, but Pittman said she was not aware of the current budget status for such an expansion.
Staffing and program details were given as approximate: Brooks said the Community Safety Department has about 11 BHRT responders who go out on calls and that the team includes roughly nine specialized police officers as co-responders. The staff declined to provide a formal timeline for expansion and did not report any formal city decision during the interview.
The conversation also addressed the emotional toll of crisis work. Brooks recounted instances in which clients he had worked with died and described taking time off to cope; he said team members often become like an "extended family." The program has also received external recognition: Brooks said he was named a CIT co-responder of the year by Trillium, and staff described BHRT as a national model of co-response.
Pittman and Brooks urged residents to educate themselves about how and when to call 911, to attend local resource fairs and to notify neighborhood community resource officers when they see neighbors who may need help. "We are resource rich, but educationally poor," Pittman said, summarizing the team's view that public knowledge about services lags behind their availability.
The interview provided an overview of BHRT's mission, day-to-day operations, staffing estimates and outreach efforts. The team expressed a desire to expand to round-the-clock coverage but offered no commitment or timeline; the city budget and any official decisions on expansion were not specified in the interview. For more information, hosts directed listeners to GTN and the city website.
