TurnSignl, an app that gives on-demand legal help to drivers who have been stopped by police, is planning a pilot program that would give up to 3,000 residents of Brooklyn Center free access to the service.
Launched weeks after the killing of Daunte Wright by a Brooklyn Center police officer, the Minneapolis-based company gives its users on-demand access to an attorney when they’ve been stopped by law enforcement or are involved in a car accident. TurnSignl’s lawyers are vetted and trained to de-escalate interactions between police and drivers through a live video call.
The service is available as an individual monthly subscription or in group plans that grant access to the app through an employer. However, the pilot in Brooklyn Center is the first attempt to give blanket coverage to an entire geographic area.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is sponsoring the program as one piece of a five-year engagement with Brooklyn Center that aims to improve racial and health equity for its over 30,000 residents.
Jazz Hampton, CEO and co-founder of TurnSignl, said Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota was an ideal partner because they actually have a diversity plan, not just a general statement on their website.
“Solving these issues is an ecosystem fix; one thing won’t solve it,” Hampton said. “… So TurnSignl can be one of those solutions that we can plug into this entire ecosystem that is helping to address those disparities.”
Following the murder of George Floyd, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota declared racism a public health crisis and began to aggressively address health inequities in the state.
Bukata Hayes, vice president of racial and health equity at the Eagan-based health plan, said 80% of health is determined by environment, neighborhoods, income and other stressors that exist outside of interactions with doctors and the health care system.
Hayes said that Brooklyn Center, which is the second most racially diverse city in the state, was the right place for the program because it was disproportionally impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and its residents have limited access to grocery stores and pharmacies.
“That’s where the partnership with TurnSignl, for us, seemed like an innovative, relevant and a responsive way to integrate with Brooklyn Center,” Hayes said.
Hayes added both companies are hoping to learn from the pilot and apply it on a much larger scale throughout Minnesota.
