An experiment underway in Raleigh aims to protect 911 callers in mental health crises from unnecessary interactions with police by having them speak directly with a clinician.
Why it matters: Sending police to calls they’re unequipped to handle can be dangerous for everyone involved.
By the numbers: One in five adults in North Carolina experiences mental illness, and about 4.5% report having serious thoughts of suicide, according to a 2025 report from Mental Health America.
- But calls to the 988 mental health hotline are typically routed through regional centers that aren’t integrated with local first responder networks.
Zoom in: That’s where the Raleigh CARES pilot comes in. Three mental health clinicians are now embedded in Raleigh’s 911 center through a partnership with Alliance Health.
- Meg Hill, one of those embedded clinicians, tells Axios it’s helpful to point people to resources “that are less invasive and more comfortable.”
The big picture: Raleigh joins a growing list of cities embracing alternatives to policing, from Durham to Minneapolis and San Antonio…