Community Hotlines

Alternatives to calling the police 
Many U.S. cities have alternative emergency response programs that provide crisis assistance and response services. These programs prioritize professional care, support, and de-escalation, particularly in situations where calling 911 or the police may not be available or necessary. 
 
The numbers and resources below connect callers with licensed and trained professionals—including mental health clinicians and social workers—who can provide important in-person or remote assistance for mental health, substance use, quality of life, and other related needs. 
 
ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Policing Alternatives & Diversion Initiative (PAD) 

The City of Atlanta’s non-emergency 311 line now accepts referral requests for PAD’s response team for quality of life concerns (mental health, substance use, extreme poverty). A PAD team will conduct outreach with the referred individual and offer immediate support and connection to other resources.

During the 2026 World Cup, call 311 to reach PAD for:

• Disturbances (such as someone yelling outside a business or blocking traffic)

• Public indecency (such as someone naked or bathing in a public space)

• Welfare (such as someone asking for food or help)

• Mental health (such as someone who appears disoriented, erratic, or is talking to themselves)

• Substance use (such as someone using drugs in public)

• Basic needs (such as someone in need of shelter and sleeping outside)

• Public health (ex: someone getting food from a dumpster or using a bathroom in a public space)

 
BOSTON AREA: FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS 

Riverside Community Services Mobile Crisis Team
1‑800‑529‑5077 (24 hours, 7 days a week) for behavioral health evaluations and crisis support.

DALLAS AREA: ARLINGTON, TEXAS

My Health My Resources of Tarrant County (MHMR) operates a Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT) that serves Arlington and the broader Tarrant County area. MCOT provides face-to-face crisis assessments and support for individuals experiencing acute mental health crises.

Call MHMR’s mental health/crisis line, ICARE: (817) 335-3022 

HOUSTON, TEXAS

The Harris Center for Mental Health (English, Spanish) has a Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT), which provides 24/7 community-based crisis response. MCOT is staffed by trained clinicians who respond to people experiencing a behavioral health crisis — such as severe emotional distress, suicidal thoughts, or other psychiatric emergencies — wherever the person is located.

Call the Harris Center Crisis & Access Line: 713-970-7000 (choose the option for crisis/mobile crisis)
 
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

Missouri’s Department of Mental Health supports mobile crisis response teams that can provide in-person help in the community for people experiencing a mental health crisis — including emotional distress, substance use crisis, suicidal thoughts, or other behavioral health emergencies. These teams can be sent to homes, workplaces, public locations, or other community settings when needed.

Call or Text 988

LOS ANGELES AREA: INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA

LA County’s Alternative Crisis Response (ACR) program dispatches teams of clinicians and community health workers for on-site support to people experiencing a mental health crisis. ACR is an alternative to the police or paramedics. 

Call ACR’s 24/7 helpline at 1-800-854-7771

MIAMI, FLORIDA

Miami‑Dade County operates a Mobile Response Team (MRT) that provides on‑site behavioral health crisis assessment and support in the community. These teams respond in-person to a crisis to help de‑escalate and stabilize the situation and connect people to needed services. Call the MRT’s 24/7 helpline at 1‑800‑HELP‑YOU (1‑800‑435‑7968).  

The Banyan Health Systems Mobile Crisis Response also provides 24/7 in‑person crisis assessment and support throughout Miami‑Dade County. Call 305‑774‑3616 or 305‑774‑3617 (English and Spanish). 

NY/NJ AREA: EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY

988 Mobile Crisis Outreach Response Teams (MCORTs)
New Jersey has launched 988 Mobile Crisis Outreach Response Teams, which can respond in-person to non-life-threatening mental health, substance use, or suicidal crises in the community when safe and appropriate. Call or text 988 for help 24/7. 

CarePlus New Jersey – Mobile Response / Children’s Mobile Response provides children and youth mobile crisis intervention and stabilization services and can come to the location of the crisis. Call the 24/7 helpline at 877-652-7624.  


PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

The Philadelphia Crisis Line (PCL) works with local Community Mobile Crisis Response Teams (CMCRT) to deliver 24/7 in-person crisis support, de-escalation, assessment, safety planning, and connection to services throughout the city. Call or text 988. 

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA

Santa Clara County operates Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRTs) of trained clinicians who respond in-person to mental health and behavioral health crises anywhere in the county. Call or text 988. 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

The City of Seattle and King County operate mobile crisis response teams that are trained to respond in-person to behavioral health crises anywhere in the county and throughout Seattle. These teams include behavioral health specialists and peer counselors who provide on-site support, de-escalation, and connection to services. 

The Mobile Rapid Response Crisis Team (MRRCT) is a county-funded program that responds to emergent mental health and substance-use crises across Seattle and King County. Call or text 988 to connect with crisis counselors who can provide immediate support and, if needed, coordinate dispatch of a mobile crisis team within the county.

Seattle also has Community Crisis Responder (CCR) models under the city’s CARE Department that function as a non‑police alternative for 911‑related behavioral health calls. Seattle and surrounding areas have expanded these teams as part of an alternative crisis response strategy. The CARE Community Crisis Responders (CCR) operates 12pm-10pm and can be reached by calling 911.