Assessment, Intake, and Diversion (AID) Center Now Open

Assessment, Intake, and Diversion (AID) Center Now Open

Published on February 16, 2023

The Denver Department of Public Safety today formally opened the Assessment, Intake, and Diversion (AID) Center to serve as a connection point to free comprehensive community and systems-based services.

"One thing is clear, and that is public health is increasingly at the center of public safety, and bringing these two elements together is essential to any strategy to make our streets safer and healthier," Mayor Michael B. Hancock said. "Today marks another example of Denver leading with an innovative approach to the challenge of improving public safety. This center is designed to recognize the need for blending law enforcement with public health, and creating accountable alternatives to jail for those individuals who are willing to engage with treatment."

Announced in Mayor Hancock's 2021 State of the City Address, the AID Center, located at 1370 Elati Street, offers a continuum of care for individuals who are in need of support. That includes individuals who have active warrants for low-level, non-violent crimes and face challenges accessing services and stable housing, however, anyone is eligible to receive services at the center. The AID Center continues Denver's dedication to public safety reform and innovation, including the STAR program launched in 2020, the neighborhood hot spots program, expanded medically assisted treatment programs in our jail, requiring all officers to wear body-worn cameras, and implementing progressive use-of-force and de-escalation trainings.

Individuals accessing services at the AID Center can walk in during business hours, be referred by outreach teams like STAR and the Street Enforcement Team, or be diverted to the AID Center by law enforcement in lieu of arrest under appropriate circumstances.

Resources available at the AID Center include housing navigation, case coordination, food and hygiene supplies, mental health support, substance misuse and sober living services, veterans services, employment support and more. The center also offers a kitchen, kids play area, lactation room, meeting room, and kennels to secure pets while their owners meet with service providers.

For more information, including information on which charges are eligible for diversion through the AID Center, please visit: https://www.denvergov.org/AIDCenter.

• Mayor