Greensboro expands mental-health 911 response with clinician-only option

Greensboro has added a new lane to its behavioral-health emergency response system. The city says its Behavioral Health Response Team has launched Clinician Alternative Response, or CAR, allowing two crisis clinicians to respond to certain 911 calls instead of sending law enforcement.

The city describes CAR as an extension of BHRT, which has paired behavioral health crisis counselors with specially trained police officers since 2020 for calls that appear related to mental health or substance use. CAR is meant for lower-risk situations where BHRT staff and officers determine that a clinician-only response is appropriate.

• What to know: The CAR response window is 6 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Friday, according to the city.
• What changed: During a pilot from mid-February to April 2, four BHRT clinicians handled 45 emergency calls under the CAR protocol.
• Why it matters: Greensboro says the model keeps co-response available for higher-acuity calls while freeing police capacity for criminal matters and higher-risk crises.

For residents, the practical instruction does not change: call 911 in an emergency. Dispatch and response staff decide which team is sent based on the call circumstances and safety needs.

Source: Reporting based on the City of Greensboro's May 22, 2026 release, City's Behavioral Health Response Team Expands with New Response Model.