A community-based public safety program launched in Birmingham this week to reach out to homeless individuals in crisis before situations escalate to the point of needing police response.

Urban Alchemy operates the Homeless Engagement Assistance Response Team or HEART Birmingham. The city approved funding of more than $1.7 million for the program, which began operating this week, in September.

“Our team brings lived experience, empathy, and the ability to read potentially explosive situations,” Artie Gilbert, director of the Birmingham program, said in a statement. “We meet each situation and person where they are, de-escalate, and do our best to connect them to resources that can help transform their lives.”

Mayor Randall Woodfin talked about the program during a press conference Tuesday morning, saying, “Food and shelter are human rights.”

“Instead of dispatching law enforcement officers to address these basic needs, HEART Birmingham’s team of compassionate, specially trained professionals will support our unhoused residents and connect them with resources they desperately need and most certainly deserve,” he continued.