Creating a safer Metro: Our Behavioral Health Support program

On any given day, a King County Metro bus ride can be a crossroads—where someone heading to work might sometimes sit beside someone navigating homelessness, trauma or crisis. Metro’s Behavioral Health Support team was created for those moments. With compassion at the center of their work, these specialists show up in transit spaces to listen, de-escalate crisis and connect people to the care they deserve.

The Behavioral Health Support program or BHS is a partnership between Metro and Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS), launched in April 2023 as part of the SaFE Reform Initiative.

Community members and Metro developed the program to provide a compassionate, human-centered approach to supporting riders in crisis. The program recognizes the need for non-uniformed personnel who can connect with community members in a supportive and approachable way and help link people to resources without judgment.

Beyond supporting riders in crisis, the BHS team also supports Metro employees. Their presence at transit centers and other key locations helps address concerns before they escalate, supports bus operators and frontline staff, and contributes to a safer environment for everyone.

Care and Presence

The BHS team is part of Metro’s Care and Presence model, recognizing that some situations are better addressed through support and connection rather than law enforcement.

Since launching, the BHS team has connected with thousands of riders by providing care, compassion and critical resources where they’re needed most. In 2025 alone, the team made nearly 10,000 customer contacts, provided more than 420 crisis response and de-escalation interventions, and connected more than 1,100 people to shelter resources.

Each interaction represents more than a statistic–it’s a moment of connection, trust and support for people navigating complex challenges in transit spaces.

The BHS team are employees from our partners with the King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) and includes employees with lived experience, alongside mental health professionals. Together, they build rapport and trust with riders who may need additional support in and around transit. The team focuses on connection first, helping de-escalate situations and connecting people to services when appropriate. These employees are deployed through reform effort.

To help build trust and maintain a visible, supportive presence in transit spaces, the team:

• Wears plain clothes rather than uniforms and can be identified by their King County badge and lanyards
• Typically works in groups of two to three
• Includes approximately 16 staff members
• Responds to crises and helps de-escalate situations on transit
• Builds relationships with riders to help prevent crises before they escalate
• Connects people to resources including shelter, housing support, medical care, behavioral health services, substance use treatment, case management, and peer support
• Provides food, water, hygiene items, harm reduction supplies, weather-related supplies, and bus tickets
• Supports riders sheltering on coaches with compassion and connections to appropriate resources
• Helps create language and culturally responsive support for customers
• Operates seven days a week from at the following locations:
  • Burien Transit Center
  • Aurora Village Transit Center to the North 130th Street corridor
  • Eastgate Park & Ride

And in contract with South Transit, operates at:

• • Seattle Transit Tunnel
  • Chinatown/International District Station to Westlake Station

Kindness and communication

Two team members are passionate about the work they do to support riders across the transit system.

Brenda Suddenbrave finds meaning in meeting people where they are and values the small moments of connection that can make a difference.

“In working with people, I find kindness goes a long way,” Suddenbrave said.

She emphasizes that communication, kindness and helping one another can make transit safer for everyone. The BHS team’s effectiveness is strengthened by their collaboration with Transit Security Officers (TSO) and social services providers in the community.

“If bus operators are having a hard time, we can help them,” Suddenbrave said. “We’re here to help.”

Lived experience

David Lewis brings lived experience with homelessness and substance use disorder to his work supporting riders in transit spaces. After completing treatment, he began working in social services and saw a major difference in both his recovery and employment success.

“I fell in love with idea of helping people in same situation I was in,” Lewis said.

He hopes more people can learn about the work the BHS team is doing because he believes compassion and visibility encourage others to help as well.

“The more people see people helping, the more willing they are to help,” Lewis said

He notes that navigating the system of connecting to vital services like housing and mental health care can be a long, confusing process. People get discouraged. In Lewis’ experience, he believes most unsheltered riders want both help and homes.

“Sometimes their only option is to ride the bus or hang out at a transit center and hope that my team is there so that they can get some food,” he said.