Edmonton police HELP team takes aim at recovery with over 600 field interventions

On an autumn Tuesday morning at the corner of 101 Street and 106 Avenue, Edmonton police Const. Kaleigh Nixon and navigator Kevin Austin found a man named Larry tweaking on meth and coming down on heroin after sleepless days and nights. Instead of an arrest, they checked on him.

"It's okay. There's no judgment. Did you need anything? We're just checking on you, man. We saw you sitting earlier," Austin told him. When Larry described himself as "floating," Austin noticed his prized figurine and said, "That's awesome. That's cool." The pair had observed Larry dancing nervously on the corner earlier and gently raised their concern: "We don't want you to fall in traffic."

This interaction—recorded by the Edmonton Journal—illustrates the Human-centered Engagement and Liaison Partnership (HELP), a dual-agency project now in its sixth year. Since July 2026, when HELP shifted to a proactive approach combining police response and field engagement, the team has completed over 600 interactions. The shift matters: instead of jail, people like Larry go to the Integrated Stabilization Centre, a facility in the basement of downtown police headquarters offering sobering up, medical treatment, food, rest, and monitoring.

HELP partners include the Edmonton Police Service, George Spady Centre, Hope Mission, wihcihaw maskokamik Society of Enoch Cree Nation, and Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society. Navigators—contracted from local social service agencies—ride with EPS members to connect people to supports. Austin, one of those navigators, told Larry before his admission to the ISC: "I want you to know that this is a good place. It's a little different than the detainee management unit."

The program reflects a broader shift in how cities approach addiction and crisis. Rather than criminalize, HELP diverts—a legal characterization of Larry's admission under section 1152 of the AGLC Act for public intoxication as intervention rather than arrest. The distinction is not semantic; it shapes access to services and removes a criminal record that deepens marginalization.