Canopy Roots

What Canopy Roots does

Canopy Roots is a Minneapolis-based mental health organization that operates the Behavioral Crisis Response (BCR) program, an unarmed, trauma-informed mobile crisis response service dispatched through the 911 system as the 4th branch of public safety alongside Fire, EMS, and Police. Founded in 2021 and sister to Canopy Mental Health & Consulting, the company deploys a predominantly Black, Indigenous, and Brown workforce of trained mental health professionals who deliver de-escalation, risk assessments, safety planning, and resource connection to individuals in mental health crisis, without weapons, sirens, or law enforcement involvement. Since launch in December 2021, BCR has responded to more than 30,000 calls with zero serious injuries to responders or community members, and approximately 80% of calls are handled independently without police, fire, or EMS backup.

The company's core revenue is derived from municipal government contracts for direct crisis response services, headlined by the City of Minneapolis contract valued at approximately $5.9 million annually, with additional contracts for Brooklyn Center (Expanded Response Team), Los Angeles (CIRCLE Program for unhoused individuals, 2024-2025), and Metro Transit (Community Response Team scheduled August 2026). A secondary revenue stream comprises technical assistance and consulting engagements for cities and foundations designing unarmed first responder programs, including work with the Pohlad Foundation, City of St. Paul, and City of Golden Valley. Services are provided free to the public; revenue flows exclusively through government and foundation contracting, with no individual-pay model. The organization is privately held, majority Black and woman-owned, co-founded and led by Candace Hanson (Executive Director) and Taylor Shultz (Director of Operations), with a stated headcount of 31+ responders and support staff as of mid-2024.

Name

Canopy Roots

Legal name

Canopy Roots

Website

https://canopyrootsmn.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Canopy Roots provides unarmed, trauma-informed mental health crisis response via 911 dispatch, primarily serving the City of Minneapolis through its Behavioral Crisis Response program, with expanding contracts in Brooklyn Center, Los Angeles, and Metro Transit, and consulting for other municipalities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Crisis Response Services

NAICS

Emergency and Other Relief Services (62423), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Search & Rescue (Urban/Water/Wilderness) Coordination (HLAJAGAJ)

Keywords

• Mental health crisis response
• Behavioral crisis response
• Unarmed first responder
• Trauma-informed crisis intervention
• 911 crisis dispatch services

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Contracts: Primary revenue stream from municipal government contracts to operate Behavioral Crisis Response programs. Examples include the $6 million two-year contract with City of Minneapolis (2021), $2.9 million one-year extension, and $5.9 million annual funding in 2023. Services are provided free to the public.
2. Technical Assistance & Consulting: Provides consulting services to cities and foundations for designing and launching unarmed first responder programs. Examples include work with Pohlad Foundation (2024-2025) and City of St. Paul (2024).
3. Service Provider Contracts: Contracts to provide crisis response services such as the CIRCLE Program in Los Angeles (2024-2025) and Community Response Team for Metro Transit (2026).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Canopy Roots provides unarmed, trauma-informed, culturally affirming mobile mental health crisis response services dispatched via 911 for non-violent behavioral and mental health emergencies. The organization operates the Behavioral Crisis Response (BCR) program as a contracted fourth branch of public safety alongside Fire, EMS, and Police, primarily serving the City of Minneapolis and other Minnesota municipalities. It also delivers technical assistance and consulting to cities and foundations designing similar unarmed first responder programs.

Product overview

Canopy Roots is a mental health organization offering culturally affirming unarmed first responder services primarily through its Behavioral Crisis Response (BCR) program — a mobile crisis response service dispatched via 911 to handle non-violent mental health emergencies. The core BCR service provides de-escalation, trauma-informed care, and resource connection. The company operates BCR services for Minneapolis (24/7 citywide) and Brooklyn Center, with a forthcoming Community Response Team for Metro Transit. Additional offerings include a Community Advisory Board for oversight and technical assistance consulting for cities designing similar programs. Canopy Roots is a sister organization to Canopy Mental Health & Consulting (MHC) for outpatient and online therapy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Behavioral Crisis Response (BCR) Unarmed, trauma-informed, culturally affirming mobile mental health crisis response service dispatched via 911 for non-violent behavioral and mental health emergencies. Deployments include the 24/7 Minneapolis BCR program (since December 2021), the Brooklyn Center Expanded Response Team (since 2024), the Los Angeles CIRCLE Program cohort (2024-2025), and the scheduled Metro Transit Community Response Team (August 2026). Responders provide de-escalation, emotional support, psychoeducation, risk assessments, safety planning, and connection to resources. Services are free to the public and funded through government contracts.
• Technical Assistance & Consulting

Quantifiable outcome

• 30,000+ calls responded to via 911 with zero serious injuries to recipients or responders
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered growth, core and minor.

• Metro Transit (MN)growthStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2026Canopy Roots is partnering with Metro Transit to launch the Community Response Team (CRT), an unarmed, community-based response program designed to support transit riders with care, compassion, and connection to resources. Scheduled to begin service in August 2026.
• Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Canopy contracted with the Minnesota Justice Research Center to evaluate operations of the Minneapolis Behavioral Crisis Response and support the growth and long-range planning of the team (2025-2026).
• City of Brooklyn Center (MN)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Canopy is a contracted service provider of the Expanded Response Team, an unarmed mental health first responder team for 911 calls, managed by the Office of Community Prevention, Health and Safety. This is a statewide first for Minnesota with dual pilot programs - one operated by Canopy Roots and another by Hennepin County & North Memorial.
• City of Los Angeles (CA)growthStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Canopy was one of a cohort of agencies operating 911-based unarmed first response services for unhoused individuals in Los Angeles through the CIRCLE (Crisis and Incident Response through Community-Led Engagement) Program (2024-2025).
• City of St. Paul (MN)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Canopy is a consultant for the Office of Neighborhood Safety at the City of St Paul to support redesign for 911 response protocols for specific call-types eligible for an unarmed and community-based response model and provide culturally responsive and trauma-informed training for all ONS community responder teams including Project PEACE, CARES, COAST, and HART.
• Pohlad FoundationgrowthImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Canopy is a Technical Assistance provider of the Pohlad Foundation's focus area to Reimage Public Safety to support the design and launch of unarmed first responder teams for a cohort of local Minnesota cities: Minneapolis, St Paul, Brooklyn Center, Golden Valley.
• City of Golden Valley (MN)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Canopy is a technical assistance provider for the City of Golden Valley through their relationship with the Pohlad Foundation to support the readiness to launch an unarmed first responder team for 911 calls.
• City of Minneapolis (MN)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2021Canopy is the contracted service provider of the Behavioral Crisis Response (BCR) team - an unarmed mental health first responder of 911 calls - for the City of Minneapolis since August 2021. Since launch, BCR has responded to more than 30,000 calls with zero serious injuries. BCR became the 4th branch of public safety dispatched by 911 alongside Fire, EMS, and Police. Minneapolis Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette praised the program as critical to delivering equitable service to residents.
• Canopy Mental Health & ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCanopy Roots is a sister organization of Canopy Mental Health & Consulting (MHC), a premier provider for outpatient and online therapy options for historically underserved and marginalized populations in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Shared approach to healing and coping is informed by collective knowledge and resources, identification of natural and cultural strengths, and affirmation of dignity above all else.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Albuquerque Community Safety (ACS): City of Albuquerque department created to respond to non-violent calls involving mental health, addiction, and homelessness without police involvement. Closely mirrors Canopy Roots' unarmed first responder model as a designated alternative to traditional public safety response.
• Support Team Assisted Response (STAR): City of Denver program dispatching mental health professionals and paramedics to 911 calls involving mental health, substance use, or homelessness. Operates as a city-run alternative first responder with a comparable mission and dispatch model to Canopy Roots' BCR.
• Austin EmPATH / Mobile Crisis Outreach Team: Austin-Travis County program providing non-police mobile crisis response with mental health professionals. Operates the EmPATH unit for emergency psychiatric assessment and field-based crisis intervention, directly analogous to Canopy Roots' Behavioral Crisis Response.
• CAHOOTS (White Bird Clinic): Eugene, OR-based nonprofit operating the original unarmed crisis response model since 1989. Pioneered the non-police response to mental health, substance abuse, and homeless-related 911 calls, directly paralleling Canopy Roots' BCR model. Both deploy plainclothes crisis workers via municipal dispatch.

Broad incumbents

• Universal Health Services: Large for-profit hospital and behavioral health operator with significant acute psychiatric and behavioral health service lines. Overlaps in mental health service delivery but does not specialize in community-based unarmed first response like Canopy Roots.
• Acadia Healthcare: Public behavioral healthcare company operating psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment, and outpatient programs nationwide. Adjacent provider of mental health services at greater scale; competes indirectly for government behavioral health contracts but does not operate an in-person 911 crisis response model.

Emerging players

• Vibrant Emotional Health: Nonprofit administrator of the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and operator of NYC's NYC Well hotline. Comparable in the crisis response ecosystem but focused on telephonic/text/chat intervention rather than in-person dispatch like Canopy Roots' BCR.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/canopy-roots

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Canopy Roots