Next phase:
The Contest

The next phase of the project will be a national design contest to imagine Crisis Response Units as fully formed civic first responders with designs for uniforms, vehicles and stations as iconic and universal as those of police, firefighters and EMT.  Side contests will also explore graphic design and unified naming for crisis response programs, and the visual design for 911 Call Centers as their own fully professionalized first responder branch.  

The contest will specifically target participants from the theatrical, film and television design industries. The creativity of this talent pool has been woefully underemployed since the pandemic.  Entertainment designers are experts in immersing themselves in research and then basing their designs around inspiration from a script. The goal of this first project phase has been to compile, summaries, analyze, and package that research in preparation for the contest, and our research team has prepared this example crisis incident and response as the inspiration script.

Sample Call Example - Minneapolis Call from January 2024

  • Who/Crisis

    A call came in to 911 from an individual in distress claiming a dog in their house was after them.

  • Call Center

    Minneapolis 911 dispatchers determined that the Behavioral Crisis Response (BCR) team was the appropriate response.

  • Team Response

    Mike Hamilton and his partner were sent in a van that had no sirens or flashing lights, wearing the identifiable and clearly marked BCR jackets and shirts.

  • Services Offered

    The team completed an assessment and were able to determine the individual was experiencing hallucinations as a result of a delusional disorder. Using their training as mental health specialists, they were able to de-escalate the situation.

  • Diversion

    The individual avoided any form of police contact or hospitalization. They were not transferred to a diversion center as the crisis was able to be resolved on-site.

  • Source.

To launch the contest, we will need to raise a pool of money to support art supply stipends, design time stipends, prize money, and communications operating costs.  Funds will be raised through donation and applying for grants.  If you are interested in making a donation, can suggest a grant we should apply for, or are interested in volunteer grant writing please contact us.