The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and mental health professionals behind Indianapolis’ Clinician-Led Community Response program have expanded services countywide, giving more residents access to clinician-based support during mental health crises instead of a traditional law enforcement response.
The Clinician-Led Community Response (CLCR) program officially launched July 1, 2023, beginning in downtown Indianapolis before expanding to additional districts based on call data and community need. The expansion across Marion County launched May 1 during Mental Health Awareness Month.
Andrea Brown, executive director of the CLCR team, said the program was intentional about both the timing and structure of the expansion.
“So, we are really intentional about tracking our data,” Brown said. “When we started looking at the data on best, next best places to expand district-wise, last year we finally expanded to the Southeast District. And again, we looked at the numbers and decided that we can expand our services and expand our reach county-wide, and what better time to do it than May, with it being Mental Health Awareness Month.”
The program partners the Office of Public Health and Safety with Stepping Stones Therapy Center, a grassroots therapy agency. Teams consist of a licensed clinician and peer support specialist who are dispatched through 911 and communicate through the same radio system used by IMPD officers.
Brown said teams respond directly to mental health-related emergencies and focus on de-escalation, crisis intervention and connecting residents with long-term support.
“The team arrives on the scene, they’re constantly assessing their safety, as well as de-escalating the neighbor, and then making sure that whatever resources that we are referring, that those are viable resources to mitigate not only the crisis, but making sure that we’re connecting our neighbors to long-term viable resources,” Brown said.
Calls commonly involve welfare checks, suicidal ideation and nonviolent situations involving unhoused residents or people experiencing substance use disorders.
According to Brown, the program has responded to nearly 3,000 calls since launching in 2023. Fewer than 2% of those calls required additional enforcement or detention.
“So, I think our city leaders are looking for actual numbers and data,” Brown said. “And I think we have proven that, and also being able to expand countywide within less than three years.”
The expansion comes after years of community calls for alternative crisis response options in Indianapolis. Public demand intensified following the 2022 death of Herman Whitfield III during an encounter with police.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett previously said the program helps both residents and officers by ensuring behavioral health emergencies receive specialized care.
“Thanks to the Clinician-Led Community Response team, hundreds of our residents in IMPD’s Downtown and East districts are getting the care they need when experiencing a behavioral health emergency,” Hogsett said during a previous district expansion announcement on WRTV Indianapolis. “They are not only helping individuals in crisis, but they are also helping keep neighbors safe by ensuring law enforcement can focus on public safety issues while trained clinicians attend to calls related to mental health crises.”
Brown said clinicians approach situations differently than traditional emergency responders because they are trained specifically in mental health intervention and crisis stabilization.
“We understand that everyone who was experiencing a mental health crisis or who is battling with substance use disorders are not a threat, are not a danger to society,” Brown said. “So, we already come in with a level of understanding and wanting to know how we can be (of) assistance to the neighbors, as opposed to trying to enforce something.”
The program also aims to reduce unnecessary incarceration and emergency room visits connected to behavioral health crises.
“We’re able to assist with people who do not necessarily need to be entangled with law enforcement because they are having a mental health crisis as well as not flooding our emergency rooms at our hospitals,” Brown previously told WFYI.
Brown said the long-term goal is to make mental health support accessible and equitable for all Indianapolis residents.
“Mental health crisis and mental health issues and concerns affect one in five people,” Brown said. “So, it’s important that everyone have access to this type of service, because it could be me one day, or it could be someone that I love.”
This reporting is made possible by a grant from the Indianapolis African-American Quality of Life Initiative, empowering our community with essential health insights. https://iaaqli.org/
Contact Health & Environmental Reporter Hanna Rauworth at 317-762-7854 or follow her on Instagram at @hanna.rauworth.
Hanna Rauworth is the Health & Environmental Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper, where she covers topics at the intersection of public health, environmental issues, and community impact. With a commitment to storytelling that informs and empowers, she strives to highlight the challenges and solutions shaping the well-being of Indianapolis residents.
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