Boston Mayor Launches Three-Part Mental Health Crisis Response Pilot

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Boston mayor unveils three-track mental health crisis response pilot with October launch in two police districts. The initiative, developed over 15 weeks by a working group including Chief Marty Martinez of the Office of Health and Human Services, Chief James Hooley of Emergency Medical Services, and Deputy Superintendent Peter Messina of the Boston Police Department, pairs existing co-response teams with two new tracks: EMT-and-clinician alternative response units for non-violent mental health calls, and a community-led response program. The co-response expansion launches in October in Police Districts A1 and B2, covering downtown Boston, Charlestown, and Roxbury; a request for proposals for a community response facilitator opens in September. The mayor said a $1.75 million reallocation already embedded in the fiscal year 2022 budget funds the effort and "is not going to the police budget." Homicides are down 40 percent and fatal shootings down 58 percent compared to the same period last year, the mayor said, citing 1,492 guns recovered by BPD.