Winston-Salem’s BEAR Team was supposed to be an alternative to police. But activists say the program isn’t living up to its potential.

Featured photo: Olivia Doyle and other activists speak out in front of Winston-Salem’s city hall on Sept. 16, 2024. (Photo by Gale Melcher)Olivia Doyle has clinical major depression, and struggled deeply with it this summer.“I was going through a suicidal episode,” she told TCB in an interview last week.When her family tried calling Winston-Salem’s Behavioral and Evaluation Response team, which acts as an alternative to police, the voice on the other line told them that t