Our Work
Transform 911 for public health, justice, and safety.
Established to centralize emergency responses to public safety, 911 has saved countless lives through more efficient deployment of first responders to assist people in need. Its police-first model, however, deploys law enforcement and other first responders to address complex problems beyond their training such as mental health crises and homelessness. This approach sometimes results in unnecessary harm and lives lost, particularly in communities of color.
Transform911 seeks to evaluate the evidence base surrounding the current 911 system, identify its limitations, and search for opportunities to innovate alternative approaches. The project will convene a wide array of experts and community stakeholders, resulting in evidence-informed and actionable proposals and recommendations. Ultimately, the project will develop policy recommendations for local, state, and federal lawmakers and create blueprints to initiate systemic change of the nation’s emergency response system.
If we aspire to promote a more equitable emergency crisis response system, we must begin at the earliest point of engagement by transforming 911.
Our Team
The Transform911 project is led by the Health Lab, one of five labs that comprise University of Chicago Urban Labs, part of the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.
Rebecca Neusteter
Principal Investigator / Executive Director, UChicago Health Lab
David Meltzer
Faculty Director, UChicago Health Lab; Chief, Section of Hospital Medicine
Harold Pollack
Co-Principal Investigator / Co-Faculty Director, UChicago Health Lab
Amy Spellman
Associate Director, UChicago Health Lab
Natalie Warren
Research Manager, UChicago Health Lab
Cree Medley
Project Associate, UChicago Health Lab
Jason Lerner
Portfolio Director, UChicago Health Lab
Leoson Hoay
Research Analyst, UChicago Health Lab
Melissa Reuland
Senior Advisor, Transform911
Nancy La Vigne
Senior Advisor, Transform911
Amber Thomas
Research Assistant, Transform911
Amy Szkorla
Research Assistant, Transform911
Bhargavi Thakur
Research Assistant, Transform911
Lesly Chávez
Research Assistant, Transform911
Opeoluwa Falako
Research Assistant, Transform911
Prabhav Kamojjhala
Research Assistant, Transform911
George Rice
Advisor, Transform911
Jill Baldassano
Advisor, Transform911
Our Partners
The University of Chicago Health Lab is proud to complete its work in partnership with leaders in public health, policing, community advocacy, academia, government, and other stakeholders. The Health Lab will engage many partner organizations and communities in the project, including Code For America, Full Frame Initiative, New York University School of Law’s Policing Project, and the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) Center for Policing Research and Investigative Science to ensure broad participation in developing recommendations.
Generous financial support for Transform911 is provided by Arnold Ventures, a philanthropy dedicated to tackling some of the most pressing problems in the United States; the Sozosei Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. (OPAI), whose primary focus is to eliminate the use of jails and prisons for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness; and the Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative.
Get in Touch
Address
33 North LaSalle Street
Suite 1600
Chicago, IL 60602