Hartford has scaled back a pioneering initiative that sends social workers instead of police to certain 911 calls amid a funding shortfall.
City officials lauded the program as a success since it began in 2022, saying it helps to reduce the potential for violent encounters between law enforcement and those in emotional distress.
Civilians from the Hartford Emergency Assistance Response Team (HEARTeam) have been dispatched to more than 2,000 calls for help. The goal is to send social workers and peer responders to calls received by Hartford's emergency call center for residents in behavioral health crisis where safety isn't an apparent concern.
Similar initiatives were rolled out across the country in the five years since the murder of George Floyd, part of a nationwide push for criminal justice reform.
But records reviewed by Connecticut Public show the city has significantly reduced funding for the program, including ending its contract with Wheeler Clinic, one of its partner organizations.
Wheeler was responsible for responding to calls involving children and teenagers experiencing behavioral health crises. City records show Wheeler handled only a small portion of calls — about 2%.
The city also cut weekend and evening hours for the Community Renewal Team (CRT), another partner organization, citing a low volume of calls during those times.
The team previously staffed workers from 8 a.m. through 10 p.m. on most days. Under a new contract in effect from November 2025 through October 2026, coverage will now end at 7 p.m. on weekdays. Weekends were eliminated entirely. To compensate, CRT will increase follow-up services for calls that come in while staff aren't available.
City officials said the changes were made in part because Hartford has failed to secure additional federal funding for the program. A spokesperson for the mayor wrote in an email that several such opportunities "were withdrawn per the direction of the current federal administration."
Hartford City Councilman Joshua Michtom said he believes the civilian responder initiative should nevertheless be a priority.
“I did have a lot of hope for it, in the sense that it could be the model," Michtom said. "But anything like that, you got to invest in it.”
Sabrina Trocchi, the president of Wheeler, said the organization was aware funding might not be renewed when it signed on several years ago.
“We were so committed to working with the police department, with the Hartford community, that we decided to proceed with this expanded program,” Trocchi said.
Wheeler also provides services to youth in crisis through the 211 referral service, which remains in place.
“While we no longer have the staffing that would be available to be deployed in the same manner, we still do remain as the child and adolescent mobile crisis provider for the Hartford and greater Hartford community," Trocchi said.
CRT and Capitol Region Mental Health Center will keep the program going this year.
The health center runs a mobile crisis team for higher risk adults. It is funded by the state, and has a preexisting relationship with the city.
CRT deploys social workers and a peer responder to de-escalate situations and connect people with services. A CRT spokesperson declined a request for comment.
Hartford is one of many Connecticut communities exploring alternative responses to emergency calls. State records show a significant share of police use-of-force incidents involve someone officers perceive as being in emotional distress.
In Hartford, some city council members were taken by surprise when the reduction in HEARTeam coverage was mentioned during a November 2025 Health and Human Services Committee meeting.
“It’s such a valuable asset. It sounds like it’s really being kind of dismantled,” Councilwoman Marilyn Rossetti said at the time.
“Nope, not dismantled,” replied Ebony Jackson-Shaheed, the director of the department. “There have just been some modifications because there has been a decrease in funding.”
Councilman John Gale also weighed in during the discussion.
“We think it’s a very important aspect of public safety in the city, and one that should be expanded and not contracted,” Gale said.
The program was funded during its initial years by $5 million of surplus city funds. Hartford also sustained the program with $2 million of COVID-19-era federal money.
Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said those federal dollars — provided under the American Rescue Plan Act — are now drying up. He said the city is committed to finding alternative means of funding.
“We need to find new ways to fund something that we know is working, and that we know is offering positive solutions for our residents,” Arulampalam said.
Arunan Arulampalam's father-in-law is Gregory B. Butler, who is a member of the Board of Trustees of Connecticut Public.
