Boston Globe: Calling 911 in Cambridge? Soon, the city may send social workers instead of police.

CAMBRIDGE — It took less than a minute for the crew of five social workers in matching mint-green T-shirts to find people who could use some help.

Right outside the door to their Central Square headquarters last month, they found a woman sitting on the ground with a few small bags, taking a rest in the 80-plus-degree heat, and gave her water and snacks. A few steps down Mass. Ave., they chatted with a homeless man who wanted assistance getting an ID.

Later, they consoled a woman who walked up to them in tears, asking if someone could pray with her. They obliged.

It was just another afternoon for Cambridge’s new five-member Community Assistance Response and Engagement, or CARE, team, which has for months been meeting with some of the city’s most vulnerable…