Meghan Venables-Thomas, left, Birmingham’s director of community development and Kirkpatrick Tyler of Urban Alchemy, inside City Hall discuss The Homeless Engagement Assistance Response Team (HEART) program. (Sym Posey, The Birmingham Times)
” data-medium-file=”https://www.birminghamtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_5042-300×225.jpeg” data-large-file=”https://www.birminghamtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_5042-1024×768.jpeg” tabindex=”0″ role=”button” />
By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
The City of Birmingham on Tuesday announced a $1.7 million contract with Urban Alchemy, a California-based organization, that will provide a public safety and call program responding to non-emergency situations involving the city’s homeless population.
Urban Alchemy will respond to non-emergency 911 and 311 calls relating to the homeless.
Most of those working with the company have overcome long-term incarceration, homelessness, mental illness and/or drug addiction. That helps when it comes to de-escalating situations that can lead to confrontations with law enforcement, said Kirkpatrick Tyler, Urban Alchemy’s Chief of Community and Government Relations.
“When an unhoused neighbor is experiencing a crisis, they often panic when an armed, uniformed law enforcement officer shows up, which can lead to unnecessary escalation that can have tragic outcomes,” said Tyler on Tuesday. “Our team members are trained to empathize and calm everyone involved down. They then offer to connect the person in crisis to resources they may need, such as shelter and medical care.”
Founded in 2018, the company’s Homeless Engagement Assistance Response Team (HEART) has seen success in de-escalating situations in and around San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Austin where it has addressed homelessness, crime, and challenging street conditions, according to Tyler.
Meghan Venable-Thomas, Director of Community Development for the City of Birmingham, said the company will be about to divert calls from 911 and 311 to give the unhoused the “direct, coordinated care that they need to move … to move into potential housing opportunities that meet their needs.”
The program is tentatively scheduled to launch at the beginning of 2025 and employ a team of nearly 20 people. Teams will respond to calls from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
“I think it’s an important cog in the wheel … because often times our unsheltered neighbors don’t have a resource that sees them or that can connect with them that has empathy and understanding,” Tyler said.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said the program can be “transformative.”
“We are excited about serving alongside Urban Alchemy to support our unhoused communities,” he said. “These residents deserve specialized services and care, and we aim to support them using our best resources and our heart. HEART Birmingham will be transformative for our unhoused community and for Birmingham at large.”
For more information about HEART Birmingham, go to www.birminghamal.gov/heart. More information about Urban Alchemy’s programs in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin is available at www.urban-alchemy.us.
