DENVER – Leaders of the Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program are concerned over the direction of the program.
The STAR program has received nationwide recognition for sending mental health counselors to non-emergency calls instead of police officers.
“We love that STAR is such a hot topic for the election. However, there's been no mention of the committee. There's been no mention of some of the issues. There's been no mention of the fact that we were canceled for six months out of last year. And frankly, the candidates that have mentioned STAR have not had as much involvement as they would allude or lead people to believe that they have,” said Ana Cornelius, co-chair of the STAR Community Advisory Committee.
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Cornelius hopes whoever becomes Denver’s next mayor publicly recognizes who started STAR.
“The reason why STAR is successful is because it came from community. Because we know our community, we know our needs, we know our resources, we know how to take care of one another,” Cornelius said. “My hope is that the mayor can see the importance of the committee and support its permanence. And I would really like to see the committee used in a way that creates better outcomes for the STAR program. I really think that we can make this really beneficial to our community, if we can just get past this not being able to work together.”
According to Cornelius, Denver’s Department of Public Health and Environment (DDPHE) which provides resources for the program, canceled its meetings with the committee for six months.
“Well, it's especially hurtful because we created the committee to be something outside of what currently stands. And as we handed it over, because we knew we couldn't meet capacity, we needed that assistance, the infrastructure,” Cornelius said. “We wanted to make sure that it maintained its integrity and its vision of world without policing.”
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A few weeks ago, the committee issued a statement, which reads in part:
"Throughout the 2023 Municipal Election in Denver, there has been an abundance of conversation about the Support Team Assisted Response Program (STAR) and candidates have largely celebrated its success and committed to supporting and expanding the program. However, as workers and community members that have been critical to STAR’s services and design, we collectively demand that candidates respond to real issues related to STAR, disability, homelessness, and mental health.
STAR responders have experienced increases in entities/agencies misusing STAR in many ways that were not part of the program’s design or intention. Certain groups have requested that STAR engage in policing activities by “moving along” unhoused folks in the 16th Street and Capitol Hill area. Shelters have tried to call STAR to remove people from their property. When responders have declined, police have been involved as enforcement."
To read the full statement click here.
