Philadelphia (PA)– In late 2022, the Philadelphia Police Department launched a Crisis Intervention Response Team (CIRT), pairing officers with mental health clinicians to respond to 911 calls with empathy and patience rather than urgency and enforcement. The program was born in the wake of the 2020 police killing of Walter Wallace Jr., a man in mental distress whose unfortunate demise reinforces the consequences of a system unprepared for crisis care.
What makes Philadelphia’s approach stand out is the time and heart it invests. Unlike regular patrol officers, who often rush from call to call, CIRT teams spend over an hour on average with each person, says Lt. Victoria Casale, who oversees the unit. “In policing, there just isn’t the resources or time to spend hours on calls,” she explains. “But we want our officers to spend time with people. We’re not leaving you. We’re trying to solve this problem with you.”
Officer Vanity Cordero is one of several team members drawn to the unit by personal experience. She grew up with an uncle who has an intellectual disability, now understood as autism. That relationship shaped her worldview and her work. “When I’m on the street and I’m serving in the community, I think of someone being my uncle or, you know, any family member,” she says. “Everyone is a family member to someone.”
That mindset guided her in February when she responded to a man threatening to jump from a bridge, a man she’d already met months before at the same location. Back then, she brought him a hot meal and talked him down. This time, she did the same, showing up not just with presence, but patience.
Clinicians from Merakey, the nonprofit behavioral health provider embedded with the unit, also bring vital tools. Program director Audrey Lundy recalls one early call: instead of conducting a routine welfare check, she and an officer brought groceries to a struggling mother. That act of care unlocked a broader conversation about support, school costs, and long-term stability.
The Philadelphia CIRT crisis response isn’t just about the moment. It is about building trust, restoring dignity, and staying long enough to help someone truly stay afloat.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, help is available. Call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or reach out to Philadelphia’s mental health services at 215-685-6440 or 888-436-7482 (TTY). You are not alone.
