We Keep Us Safe: Organizing Our Neighborhoods For Community Safety
In August of 2022, we shared a proposal with Raleigh City Council to establish an effective crisis response unit independent of the police in our city. In our proposal - collectively written by Refund Raleigh’s steering committee - we called for “community crisis response units to be organized in different neighborhoods.” We stressed that “If we want true safety, the community has to be active participants and trained on how to engage and de-escalate crises.”
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After organizing for this community intervention for nearly 3 years, we found out in November of 2023 that WE WON OUR DEMAND!! Refund Raleigh will be a key thought partner and leader with the city of Raleigh to build a community-centered crisis response unit and to implement parts of proposal.
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But the fight is only just beginning. In this next phase of our struggle, organizing our neighborhoods for community safety will be crucial. We are in an exciting but pivotal moment to not just talk about empowering communities fore safety but to actively do it.
In the coming weeks, we will propose a strategy for building neighborhood zones of power. This will ensure that the crisis response program is:
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connected to centers of community power
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embedded within our neighborhoods, and
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under the people’s control!
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If you live anywhere in Raleigh, we need YOU! Fill out the form below if you are ready to be a vital foot soldier in organizing your own neighborhood for real community safety.
The fight continues
By building neighborhood organizations, we not only help make communities safer, we build a strong force that will help implement and defend the crisis response unit and its independence from the police.