Last Week, The Community Crisis Response Amendment submitted nearly 30,000 signatures to get in front of Columbus voters on the May 5th Primary Election ballot.
This campaign has been years in the making. The Columbus Safety Collective (CSC) was formed in 2020 by impacted residents, community members and advocacy organizations that were tired of emergency services perpetuating harm instead of preventing it. Since then, the CSC has educated the public on nonpolice crisis programs, advocated within city government, and built relationships with Cincinnati’s Alternative Response to CRISIS (ARC) and Dayton’s Mediation Response Unit.
Instead of sending police officers to community members experiencing homelessness, substance misuse or a mental health crisis, the nonpolice crisis team - proposed in The Community Crisis Response Amendment - would send trained crisis intervention workers to deescalate nonviolent situations and follow up with the services needed to support long-term stability.
While combatting the historical mistrust of police by communities of color, the nonpolice crisis team will work to repair trust among all Columbus residents by:
- Centering an Anti-Racist Framework for care through training curriculum that is person-centered, trauma-informed, and committed to equity, healing and justice.
- Promoting Accountability by creating a board of community members to develop best practices, oversee the team’s work and the complaint process.
- Prioritizing hiring people with lived experience. This includes those that have been involved in the legal system, have mental health and substance misuse conditions, or have experienced community violence, poverty, housing instability or homelessness.
As the campaign awaits certification from city officials, we can honor BHM by continuing to learn about the realities of historically marginalized communities in Columbus. Together we can improve the lives of communities who have been the most frequent targets of police violence.