book in progress
I am writing a nonfiction book on the burgeoning movement across the United States to build 911-dispatched first responder systems that are care, rather than crime, focused. For decades, the Eugene-Ore. CAHOOTS program stood alone, but in the years approaching 2020, several other west communities built programs. One of them was Portland, Oregon, where I worked shoulder to shoulder from hundreds of people who were homeless, and who taught me not only about the need for this program, but what it needed to look like. This book documents that story, and the people and political opportunities that made transformative change possible. In 2020, as people took to the streets protesting the murder of George Floyd and police brutality, calling for alternatives to police, many other cities built such programs. Federal funding flowing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic allowed these communities to launch pilots. Now, there are more than 130 programs nationwide. I have traveled around the nation, shadowing programs to describe what will be a future branch of first response alongside police, fire and ambulance services.
Further reading: I discussed the struggles of CAHOOTS and the strengthening of Portland Street Response for the Nation.
I write columns on this topic for unwantedpersons.com
