First year of Care-Based Safety: workshops, community building, place-based response
CBS staff members Amal Omer, Robert Ramaswamy, Sheri Wander and Marquise Williams.
By Mike Jones, Groundcover vendor No. 113
On June 18, the Wayne Police Department murdered John Zook Jr. He called the police for help during a mental health crisis and they responded by shooting him six times.
On July 6, the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department in Springfield, Ill. murdered Sonya Massey in her own kitchen after she called 911 to report a possible intruder in her home.
We hear stories like this far too often when it comes to police and ordinary citizens in distress.
“Care-Based Safety” is an unarmed response organization, established in September 2023. Their main objective and purpose is to keep people of color, Indigenous, undocumented, unhoused, LGBTQIA+, people using drugs, and/or those experiencing mental health struggles safe by addressing:
Conflict such as arguments, disagreements
Basic first aid (wound care, wellness checks)
Overdose prevention, reversal, and aftercare
Noise complaints and neighbor concerns
Distress related to mental health and other stressors
Care-Based Safety is building a community response program that brings loving, unarmed support to people directly impacted by structural violence.
The Ypsilanti Care-Based Response pilot program has been operating throughout the summer in the downtown area. They work out of 16 S. Washington St. in partnership with Growing Hope and FedUp Ministries to respond to conflicts and troubling issues that might occur in the downtown area.
Care-Based Safety planned to serve the most vulnerable in the Ann Arbor area as well, but on Dec. 18, 2023, Ann Arbor voted to cancel their most recent Request for Proposals (RFP) for an unarmed response program. Care-Based Safety was the only organization that submitted a proposal to this RFP, so Ann Arbor effectively rejected CBS when they canceled it. The Ann Arbor City Council received many negative comments from CBS supporters, but didn’t change its vote.
Note that Care Based Safety is the first and only unarmed response organization in the state.
I talked to Washtenaw County native Liz Kennedy, the director, who leads operations and culture work at Care-Based Safety. “How do you like your job at CBS?” I asked. She said, “I love it. It's an amazing opportunity to bring a purely non-police community-led program here in Ypsilanti. I grew up in Washtenaw County, and I lost a lot of loved ones to overdoses, violence and incarceration over the years. I myself am a survivor, so it is a really humbling experience to be able to support and bring a program like this to life because I feel we as a community need more options, more tools in the tool box, when it comes to getting crisis care and healing support.”
I also asked her, “Why does this community need CBS?” She answered, “The community we serve asked for CBS. We are a very diverse group of community leaders who work, live and play in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, and in the wider Washtenaw County community. We are the representatives of people who are most impacted by police and all of state violence like people of color, trans and queer, and those suffering from mental health issues, and together we are developing a care-based system for all. Care-Based Safety is created by us and for us.”
I also had a chance to talk to Community-Building Lead Sheri Wander, and she wanted our readers to know: “The pilot program is a place-based pilot, meaning we will be in the downtown area and if any crisis or conflict is brought to our attention, we will respond from there (not in response to a phone number). In part, this is a capacity issue, because we don’t have the people or funding to have an outward facing phone number that would allow us to respond to a large geographic area. But also, there is a particular need in this area. So many people hang out downtown, [people with] intersecting identities, people of color, poor, homeless, [with] alcohol and substance abuse — leaving many in our community vulnerable to over-policing and the penal system.
“The pilot program is largely about community building. When we co-created Care-Based Safety through listening sessions and surveys, we heard over and over that 50% of the work should be about community-building. Building trust and a safety net in our community is the only way for it to be successful. And that those who respond to whatever situations that might occur in our community should be from the community.
“We plan to have days where we have fun: dance parties, karaoke, rap contests — and we have cornhole and a giant Jenga game. And also be on the lookout on really hot days for us to host a cooling center for those who need to escape the harsh summer heat.
“We also hope people will give monetary donations, and/or their time and services so we can better help our community with resources needed. Visit our website to donate and for more information on how to get involved: carebasedsafety.org
“For those who need these services, we will be at 16 S. Washington St, every Wednesday and Thursday from 5-9 p.m. throughout summer.”
Note: Wellness Wednesdays include: Haircuts, foot care and more.
Thursday’s Fundays includes: Music, dance, and games.
Be safe, and have a great summer!
Music circle at the place-based pilot.
