Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland (MACRO) Program

The purpose of MACRO is to deliver a compassionate care first response model grounded in empathy, service, and community.  

The goal of MACRO is to reduce responses by emergency services (Fire & Police), resulting in increased access to community-based services and resources for impacted individuals.

Hours of Operation: 7 days a week [6:30 am - 8:30 pm] 

How to Request a MACRO Response

Phone: (510) 44 MACRO | (510) 446-2276

To aid the dispatcher, callers should confirm that the situation is non-violent, non-emergent, with no visible weapons and outside of a dwelling/residence or business. 

Do not call 211, 311, or 911 to request a MACRO response.

Email: MACRO@oaklandca.gov

When emailing MACRO please use this template:

• Email MACRO@oaklandca.gov
• Subject: "Request for Service @ Address/Location + Incident Type"
• Body: Description of the incident, any relevant history, and if possible, a picture.

FAQ: When Should I contact MACRO?

MACRO teams respond to calls about homelessness, some behavioral or mental health calls, and nonviolent community disturbances. Contact MACRO at the onset of a behavioral health issue or when there is initial concern for a person's mental health or well-being. The earlier a MACRO team can begin an intervention the better.

MACRO Responds to non-emergency, non-violent, non-criminal, “quality of life” calls for service. 

MACRO requests are for quality of life concerns and NOT for EMERGENCIES or VIOLENT situations. MACRO units DO NOT respond inside anyone's home or to domestic violence calls. If an immediate emergency response is required, please call 911. 

MACRO Crews respond to non-emergency "quality of life" calls for service  in three categories: (1) Behavioral Health Issues (2) Individual Well-Being (3) Community Disturbance:

Behavioral Health Issues

• Mental Health Concern (Low)
• Mental Health Challenge (Moderate)
• Indecent Exposure (Limited)

Individual Well Being

• Wellness Check
• Sleeper
• Found Senile

Community Disturbance

• Intoxicated Group / Drunk in Public
• Noise Complaint
• Disorderly Juvenile
• Panhandling (Non-Aggressive)

FAQ: How are MACRO call types determined?

Regular meetings are held between the Oakland Police Department & Oakland Fire Department to review incident types and trends to determine the most effective way to ensure the appropriate calls for service are being diverted to MACRO. 

The OPD criteria to divert a 911 call to MACRO: 1) no threats of or active violence, 2) no visible weapons, 3)outside of home or dwelling, and 4) the individual is not an immediate danger to themselves or others.

What geographic areas does MACRO cover?

MACRO Serves the entire City of Oakland.  The City is divided into Seven zones of service:

Zone 2 [Deep East Oakland] 

• The area from 73rd Avenue to the San Leandro border, bounded by I-580 to the north and roughly Edgewater Dr to the south

Zone 4 [East Oakland] 

• The area from 35th Avenue to 73rd Avenue, including the Laurel District & Redwood Heights. Roughly bounded by I-580 to the north and I-880 to the south. 

Zone 6 [Central Oakland] 

• The area from East Lake and Park Boulevard to 35th Avenue, including the Fruitvale, San Antonio & Little Saigon. This area is roughly bounded by I-580 to the north and the Embarcadero to the south. 

Zone 3 [West Oakland] 

• The area bordered by I-880 on the south and west, I-980 on the east, and 35th Street to the north.  

Zone 5 [North Oakland] 

• The area bordered by I-580 to the south, the city of Berkeley to the north, the city of Emeryville to the west, and the Oakland Hills to the east. This area includes neighborhoods such as Piedmont Ave, Temescal, Rockridge, and Bushrod. 

Zone 7 [Downtown & The Lake] 

• The combined area of Downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt includes key neighborhoods and districts such as Jack London Square, Chinatown, Uptown, and the areas around Lake Merritt, including Lakeside Park and the Lakeshore and Adams Point neighborhoods. 

Zone 8 [All Other Areas] 

• This category is used as a catch-all for all other areas including neighborhoods such as Montclair, Piedmont Pines and roughly North of Hwy 13 

Intended MACRO Outcomes

• Decreased negative outcomes from law enforcement response to nonviolent 911 emergency calls, especially among Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC);
• Increased connections to community-based services for people in crisis, especially among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color;
• Redirection of MACRO-identified 911 calls to an alternative community response system;
• Reduced Oakland Police Department & Oakland Fire Department expenses and call volume related to 911 nonviolent calls involving people with behavioral health, substance use, and unsheltered individuals.

FAQ: When will MACRO be available 24/7? 

After a thorough evaluation of the community's needs, addressing any safety issues, and a clear contingency plan, OFD will consider and plan for a 24/7 deployment in 2025.

History of the Program:

In 2019, City Council allocated $40,000 to research the feasibility of launching a program in Oakland modeled after Eugene Oregon Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS) model, widely recognized as a non-law enforcement mobile crisis intervention that has seen significant success since its inception 31 years ago.

CONTACT:

Elliott Jones, Program Manager, MACRO, Oakland Fire Department, EJones3@oaklandca.gov

Michael Hunt, Public Information Officer, Oakland Fire Department, Mhunt@oaklandca.gov