Featured photo: A BEAR response car for Winston-Salem (screenshot)

Winston-Salem’s mental-health alternative response team, BEAR, is getting more funding. As part of the federal government’s first fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill, $700,000 will go toward expanding the team, according to a new city release. These funds were supported by Rep. Kathy Manning and will be spent on hiring an additional four crisis counselors, bringing the staff to a total of 11 people. 

Currently, BEAR team members are stationed at fire departments around the city that receive a high volume of mental-health calls. The team is available on a 24/7 basis to offer an alternative response to non-violent mental health, domestic disputes and substance abuse calls.

The team originally started in May 2023 as a 1-year pilot program financed through $700,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funding.

The model, which has taken off in other cities as well, gained popularity in the wake of the 2020 Racial Reckoning in which Black Lives Matter protests pushed back against police brutality and resulted in a call for new models of law enforcement.

In October, city council approved the purchase of four Dodge Durango pursuit vehicles to support the expanding team, costing $41,292 each. The council also chose to spend more than $400,000 of their opioid settlement funds on BEAR. According to the National Institute of Health, patients diagnosed with a mental health condition are more likely to get opioid prescriptions despite their greater risk of addiction and overdose.

Between May 15, 2023 and January 30 of this year, the team responded to 1,800 calls. Team members also help support street-outreach teams, relocate unhoused people, provide crisis counseling and offer resources for additional help as well as follow up. Downtown’s Clark Campbell Transportation Center is where many of the city’s unhoused population congregates, and in August 2023 BEAR Director Kristin Ryan said that the team spends time in that area on a weekly basis. Ryan said that the team has served clients of all age demographics, from children to seniors.

Due to the success of the program, during the primary election race many candidates called for it to have a permanent place in the budget.

The best way to reach the BEAR Team is by calling 911 and requesting the team, or by calling them directly at 336-705-3668.

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