St. Pete’s CALL Program serves more than 3,000 people in first year, city council extends program

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Community Assistance and Life Liaison (CALL) program pilot was created to improve response to mental health and social services calls.

The program is a partnership with the St. Petersburg Police Department, and it allows dispatchers to reroute social workers and other mental health professionals to non-violent and other non-emergency mental health related calls.

"It's a great way to move forward in providing the right type of response for these types of mental health, substance abuse, and often economic related calls for service," Megan McGee with St. Pete police said. "They aren't criminal. They're not violent. It is unnecessary for law enforcement to respond on these types of calls."

Since the program started in February 2021, CALL has served over 3,000 people, completed over 5,400 contacts (a combination of live calls, follow-ups and referrals) and received over 1,000 officer referrals. 

The CALL team said when a social worker responds it helps to deescalate the situation allowing them to then develop an appropriate plan.

"We're here to separate mental health and law enforcement," Tianna Audet, CALL Team Program Director said. "You know, a gun and a badge can only do so much. And, you know, we come in with our skill set and that's, you know, to help anyone who needs social services."

Because of the success of the pilot program, the St. Petersburg City Council voted to renew the contract with Gulf Coast for CALL services for an additional two years.