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STAR, Denver's non-police crisis response, has two contracts and an update before Council

A $2.8 million Denver Health contract for STAR medics is up for a final vote Monday, and the program briefs a committee Wednesday. Staff said this month STAR can't reach every eligible call.

By Denver Politics staffUpdated

The Denver City Council's Oct. 19, 2026 meeting, during questions on the STAR grant.
The Denver City Council's Oct. 19, 2026 meeting, during questions on the STAR grant.Denver City Council video via Denver Politics

Denver's Support Team Assisted Response program, known as STAR, sends a medic and a mental health clinician instead of police to some 911 calls. This week it is in front of the Council three times, and the city's own staff have said it cannot answer every call it is eligible for.

STAR matters to residents because it handles calls about people in mental health crises or using substances. Axios Denver reported last year that STAR runs from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and had responded to 25,144 incidents in its first five years.

What's before the Council

Monday, Oct. 26: the medics. Council Bill 26-1431 is a $2,837,767.92 contract with Denver Health to provide EMTs or paramedics and vans for STAR through Dec. 31, 2027. The Health and Safety Committee approved it by consent on Oct. 7, and the Council ordered it published on Oct. 19. Monday is its final vote (agenda).

Wednesday, Oct. 28: the update. The Health and Safety Committee has a "STAR Program Updates" presentation, 26-1613 (agenda). No slides were posted as of Saturday.

Already approved: the clinicians. On Oct. 19, the Council adopted 26-1432, accepting a $2,734,639 grant from the Caring for Denver Foundation to continue STAR through July 31, 2027. It passed 11-0 as part of a block vote, with Council member Stacie Gilmore absent.

What our records add

Staff said demand is outrunning capacity. Before the Oct. 19 vote, Council President Pro Tem Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez asked what the grant pays for (video at 1:01:40). A manager in the Department of Public Health and Environment's behavioral health section said the Caring for Denver money pays for all of STAR's follow-up services and about half of its clinician positions. She said eligible calls rise each year and the program can't get to all of them, and that more money could pay for more staff and hours (video at 1:02:15).

Budget pressure isn't new. At a Sept. 21 budget hearing, Council member Chris Hinds asked city staff about STAR (video at 24:32). Last year a member of STAR's community advisory committee told Denver7 the program was answering only about half the calls it could.

A related contract. The Health and Safety Committee also advanced 26-1513 on Oct. 21, adding $3,670,867 to the Mental Health Center of Denver's contract to run the Behavioral Health Solutions Center, for a total of $27,079,152 through Aug. 15, 2027. It goes to the Mayor-Council meeting Tuesday (agenda).

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