BAWAR

Posted •
In the event of a non-violent, non-emergency situation, you can now call these civilian responders directly at 510-446-2276.

Until now, the program has relied on 911 dispatchers to divert calls to Oakland Fire Department, which then referred to MACRO responders. However, this method was only diverting a fraction of calls from OPD to MACRO, even though the need for their services was higher.

When you call, a dispatcher will ask some initial questions to confirm if the situation is appropriate for a MACRO responder. Since MACRO responders are not police, responders are not able to be dispatched to emergencies or situations where someone is being violent or carrying a weapon. They are also not able to set foot inside of private property, such as a business or home.

They now operate across all of Oakland, with current hours 6:30am-1:45pm (seven days a week), and 2:00-10:00pm as staffing permits.

With the goal of eventually having increased funding and scope, they hope to become 24/7.

Email is also an effective way to get a hold of them at [email protected] . When emailing MACRO, make the subject: "Request for Service @ Address/Location + Incident Type" and in the body of the email include a description of the incident, any relevant history and if possible, a picture.

What is MACRO?

The Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland (MACRO) is a civilian response program that was launched in April 2022 in order to divert calls from the police and fire departments that can be better handled by civilians.

These types of calls include behavioral health issues or concerns for a person's mental health and well-being. This makes MACRO a critical tool in Oakland, where our 911 system has struggled to respond quickly to emergency calls partly due to the high volume of non-emergency requests.

For more information, see their website oaklandca.gov/projects/macro-mobile-assistance-community-responders-of-oakland

It's in Alameda County and BAWAR's Project SIREN (Students Invested in Reshaping Environments Now!) was proud to join fellow members of the Mayor's Advisory Council on Human Trafficking and Oakland Unified School District to raise awareness and share vital information with students at Fremont High this morning.

Thank you to the City Council for recognizing and commemorating April as is about letting survivors know they are not alone and inviting the community into the work to disrupt and prevent cycles of harm.

Ramadan starts this week and many of the youth spaces we support will have students observing so we wanted to share some reminders we will be taking into account at BAWAR.