What's next for the police response alternative STAR as it turns 5
The big picture: The program dispatches a paramedic with a behavioral health clinician to low-risk calls, most often for people dealing with mental health distress or substance use issues.
Program manager and supervisor Marion Rorke tells us the program serves as an alternative to sending Denver police, who now sometimes call STAR themselves when they realize it's better equipped to handle certain calls.
State of play: STAR has turned into a national mode l, but in order to one day become a 24/7 service, it needs more funding — which seems unlikely given Denver's current budget woes.
What they're saying: "Every single call that the STAR van responds to — in lieu of law enforcement — could potentially be a life saved," local police reform activist Alex Landau told Denver City Council last week as it recognized the program's fifth anniversary.
By the numbers: The program responded to 25,144 incidents between June 1, 2020, and June 3, 2025, per data provided by the city's department of public health, which runs STAR.
When it launched, STAR had a single van with two people staffing it per shift.
It now boasts eight vehicles, plus a rotating staff of 16 Denver Health paramedics and 16 clinicians from WellPower, a mental health care provider, who still work in teams of two.
How it works: STAR runs from 6am-10pm daily, with Denver 911 responsible for dispatching its team instead of police or ambulances.
STAR can connect people with additional services, even transporting them to places like behavioral health centers or referring them to other local health care services.
Nearly 60,000 calls were STAR-eligible over the past five years.
The intrigue: Rorke tells us she's working to codify a community advisory committee that provides direct feedback and recommendations to STAR's operation, something local advocates say is crucial to its success.
That could mean making this community board a charter requirement, giving the panel more authority.
Between the lines: STAR's current budget is $7.2 million, including $5.3 million directly from the city, and the rest coming from Caring for Denver grant money.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
3 hours ago
New York Liberty's Isabelle Harrison is raising awareness about her brother's struggle with lupus
NEW YORK -- Isabelle Harrison always looked forward to going to Indiana to play no matter what WNBA team she was on. It gave her a chance to catch up with her brother Daniel, who's been battling lupus since he was 13. Last weekend, when Harrison accompanied her New York Liberty teammate and girlfriend Natasha Cloud to the WNBA All-Star Game, Daniel was in the hospital dealing with complications from the autoimmune disorder. Harrison spent most of the weekend — except when Cloud was competing in and winning the skills competition — with her brother, who has spent four years waiting for a kidney transplant. He needs to be healthy to receive a new kidney. The average wait time for a kidney transplant is 3 to 5 years, though it can vary in different parts of the country. 'I will say the past month now, he's been in and out of the hospital,' Harrison said. 'The first game this year he couldn't come to because he was in the hospital, the second we had to use a walker since he couldn't get around well.' Daniel couldn't make it to the arena for All-Star weekend. "It's just been kind of hard for him mentally because he's never dealt with this type of it before," Harrison said. 'The doctors haven't really seen anything like this.' Daniel is a rare case since 90% of people living with lupus are women. Harrison lost her sister, Danielle, to the disease in 2017. Three of Harrison's 12 siblings have been diagnosed with lupus. 'It's very prevalent in the African American community,' Harrison said. Lupus is a chronic disease that can cause pain and inflammation in any part of the body, though it typically affects skin, joints, the heart and kidneys. Approximately 1.5 million Americans have some form of lupus and there are an estimated 16,000 new cases per year, according to the Lupus Foundation of America. The disease causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue and impacts each person differently. Harrison carries some of her sister's ashes in a necklace she wears to keep Danielle close to her heart. She's doing everything she can to make sure she doesn't lose another sibling to the disease. She has a tattoo that reads 'faith over fear.' Harrison came to New York this year after struggling with the Chicago Sky last season. She missed all of 2023 due to meniscus surgery. She's been playing well lately, averaging 8.0 points over the past month as a key reserve for the Liberty. While competing in Athletes Unlimited over the winter the last four years, Harrison has played for the Lupus Foundation of America, raising almost $18,000 for the organization. Harrison said the Liberty have been supportive. The team doctors check in with her, as does general manager Jonathan Kolb. Although Harrison does not have lupus, she battled another autoimmune condition in 2018. 'It means a lot. They really care,' she said. 'I've never ever felt that before on teams I've been with."
Hamilton Spectator
6 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
New York Liberty's Isabelle Harrison is raising awareness about her brother's struggle with lupus
NEW YORK (AP) — Isabelle Harrison always looked forward to going to Indiana to play no matter what WNBA team she was on. It gave her a chance to catch up with her brother Daniel, who's been battling lupus since he was 13. Last weekend, when Harrison accompanied her New York Liberty teammate and girlfriend Natasha Cloud to the WNBA All-Star Game, Daniel was in the hospital dealing with complications from the autoimmune disorder. Harrison spent most of the weekend — except when Cloud was competing in and winning the skills competition — with her brother, who has spent four years waiting for a kidney transplant. He needs to be healthy to receive a new kidney. The average wait time for a kidney transplant is 3 to 5 years, though it can vary in different parts of the country. 'I will say the past month now, he's been in and out of the hospital,' Harrison said. 'The first game this year he couldn't come to because he was in the hospital, the second we had to use a walker since he couldn't get around well.' Daniel couldn't make it to the arena for All-Star weekend. 'It's just been kind of hard for him mentally because he's never dealt with this type of it before,' Harrison said. 'The doctors haven't really seen anything like this.' Daniel is a rare case since 90% of people living with lupus are women. Harrison lost her sister, Danielle, to the disease in 2017. Three of Harrison's 12 siblings have been diagnosed with lupus. 'It's very prevalent in the African American community,' Harrison said. Lupus is a chronic disease that can cause pain and inflammation in any part of the body, though it typically affects skin, joints, the heart and kidneys. Approximately 1.5 million Americans have some form of lupus and there are an estimated 16,000 new cases per year, according to the Lupus Foundation of America . The disease causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue and impacts each person differently. Harrison carries some of her sister's ashes in a necklace she wears to keep Danielle close to her heart. She's doing everything she can to make sure she doesn't lose another sibling to the disease. She has a tattoo that reads 'faith over fear.' Harrison came to New York this year after struggling with the Chicago Sky last season. She missed all of 2023 due to meniscus surgery. She's been playing well lately, averaging 8.0 points over the past month as a key reserve for the Liberty. While competing in Athletes Unlimited over the winter the last four years, Harrison has played for the Lupus Foundation of America, raising almost $18,000 for the organization. Harrison said the Liberty have been supportive. The team doctors check in with her, as does general manager Jonathan Kolb. Although Harrison does not have lupus, she battled another autoimmune condition in 2018. 'It means a lot. They really care,' she said. 'I've never ever felt that before on teams I've been with.' ___ AP WNBA:
NBC Sports
6 hours ago
- NBC Sports
New York Liberty's Isabelle Harrison is raising awareness about her brother's struggle with lupus
NEW YORK — Isabelle Harrison always looked forward to going to Indiana to play no matter what WNBA team she was on. It gave her a chance to catch up with her brother Daniel, who's been battling lupus since he was 13. When Harrison accompanied her New York Liberty teammate and girlfriend Natasha Cloud to the WNBA All-Star Game, Daniel was in the hospital dealing with complications from the autoimmune disorder. Harrison spent most of the weekend — except when Cloud was competing in and winning the skills competition — with her brother, who has spent four years waiting for a kidney transplant. He needs to be healthy to receive a new kidney. The average wait time for a kidney transplant is 3 to 5 years, though it can vary in different parts of the country. 'I will say the past month now, he's been in and out of the hospital,' Harrison said. 'The first game this year he couldn't come to because he was in the hospital, the second we had to use a walker since he couldn't get around well.' Daniel couldn't make it to the arena for All-Star weekend. 'It's just been kind of hard for him mentally because he's never dealt with this type of it before,' Harrison said. 'The doctors haven't really seen anything like this.' Daniel is a rare case since 90% of people living with lupus are women. Harrison lost her sister, Danielle, to the disease in 2017. Three of Harrison's 12 siblings have been diagnosed with lupus. 'It's very prevalent in the African American community,' Harrison said. Lupus is a chronic disease that can cause pain and inflammation in any part of the body, though it typically affects skin, joints, the heart and kidneys. Approximately 1.5 million Americans have some form of lupus and there are an estimated 16,000 new cases per year, according to the Lupus Foundation of America. The disease causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue and impacts each person differently. Harrison carries some of her sister's ashes in a necklace she wears to keep Danielle close to her heart. She's doing everything she can to make sure she doesn't lose another sibling to the disease. She has a tattoo that reads 'faith over fear.' Harrison came to New York this year after struggling with the Chicago Sky last season. She missed all of 2023 due to meniscus surgery. She's been playing well lately, averaging 8.0 points over the past month as a key reserve for the Liberty. While competing in Athletes Unlimited over the winter the last four years, Harrison has played for the Lupus Foundation of America, raising almost $180,000 for the organization. Harrison said the Liberty have been supportive. The team doctors check in with her, as does general manager Jonathan Kolb. Although Harrison does not have lupus, she battled another autoimmune condition in 2018. 'It means a lot. They really care,' she said. 'I've never ever felt that before on teams I've been with.'
