ANN ARBOR – The creation of an urgent response number and skill training are among the actions recommended for Washtenaw County’s unarmed, non-police response program when it launches later this year.
Spearheading program design proposals is the Care-Based Safety (CBS) team, a group of local organizers, community members and activists.
Recommended Videos
“We are working toward creating a program that is able to respond to conflict and harm with care, while moving toward a future where healthcare, education, recreation, employment, housing and more are funded for all people,” states a newly-released strategic plan by CBS.
The creation of the program comes from local support for an alternative to a police response to emergency situations and community safety.
In the strategic plan, members of CBS outline potential future pilot plans for both Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, the composition of the founding unarmed response team and program core values, such as accountability and shared responsibility.
“This work gives me hope that we can return to neighborhoods and communities centered in care and regard for our shared humanity. Non-police care response models are proven not only to save lives but they redefine public safety in a way that decriminalizes issues like homelessness, poverty, addiction, mental health and other disabilities. Care-based safety contributes to a culture of consent rather than one with the threat of force. This approach signals to those in our community that we do not need cops to keep us safe, what we need is each other,” said CBS member and community organizer Yodit Mesfin Johnson in a release.
Recommendations by CBS for the future include team-based approaches to public health, community-driven direction, independence from 911 dispatch and public outreach.
The group also proposed a route for how emergency calls are handled by using factors like urgency, proximity, types of emergency and using interdisciplinary teams appropriate for the call.
Formed in July 2022, CBS grew out of The Coalition for Re-Envisioning Our Safety (CROS) Washtenaw County--a coalition of community members, organizers, public health officials and researchers responding to the passing of Ann Arbor City Council resolution 21-0612. The resolution addressed Ann Arbor’s need for the development of an unarmed, nonpolice response team.
While CROS focuses on advocacy and ambassadorship, CBS has independently focused on the design and fundraising side of the response program. It has secured investment funds for the pilot program within Ypsilanti.
Washtenaw County’s unarmed, non-police response program will be the first of its kind in Michigan.