Tag Archives: CARE

Not quite 24×7, Seattle’s CARE Department crisis responders now available 18.5 hours a day

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(Image: CARE)

Seattle’s CARE Department is ready for a big step as the city’s crisis responders are expanding their hours to daily from 6:30 AM to 1:00 AM across Seattle.

The unit previously operated from noon to 10:00 PM

The schedule expansion targets late-night and early-morning hours when officials say demand peaks. According to call data, approximately 84% of the unit’s most frequent call types, including welfare checks, resource requests, and crisis assistance, occur within the department’s new hours. Continue reading →

Proposal would refine mission of Seattle Care Department crisis responders

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Tuesday, the Seattle City Council’s public safety committee is hearing updates on a new proposed ordinance to refine the mission of the city’s CARE Department and its crisis responders.

CHS reported this week on CARE’s new East Precinct hub at 12th and Jefferson as Chief Amy Barden guides the department to overcome limitations placed on its responders.

The new ordinance proposal would refine the goals of CARE — and, possibly, allow SPD to more fully embrace the department’s role in public safety in the city.

The proposed ordinance (PDF) would include a key clarification, codifying boundaries for field staff, explicitly stating that responders cannot engage in criminal law enforcement or issue citations of any kind.

It would also provide structure and new rules in the following areas: Continue reading →

Seattle’s CARE Department makes three responses a day around Capitol Hill — That number is expected to rise in 2026

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(Image: CARE)

A heat map of CARE call for service responses so far in 2026 — Source: seattle.gov

By Brenna Gauchat

Seattle’s expanding force of crisis responders has been busy with calls across the East Precinct including Capitol Hill and the Central District about three times every day so far in 2026. Amy Barden, chief of Seattle’s CARE Department, says there is more to do to continue to address public safety around Capitol Hill.

After taking a brief sip of hot tea, helping a sore throat through a bad cold, Barden answered questions on how the new department plans to help tackle Capitol Hill’s most pressing safety concerns in the new year.

“Capitol Hill is not doing well,” Barden said this week in a community meeting with the GSBA chamber of commerce. “So it very much frustrates me when leaders are calling ‘mission accomplished’ about crime statistics.”

The neighborhoods of Capitol Hill and Central District aren’t the busiest areas for CARE right now. Currently, only around 18% of the department’s responses take place in the East Precinct. The city’s largest precinct geographically leads the way with CARE calls as the North Precinct generates more than 30% of the department’s current activity.

Still, the areas around the core of East Precinct near Broadway and Pike/Pine are some of the busiest for CARE, and responders can be seen there daily. Around 70% of East Precinct CARE work is currently taking place in these densely populated areas near downtown. Continue reading →