Call to Action: Boys and Men of color

Call to Action

Friends in Christ. We want to share this call to action letter with you.

Dear Allies,

This week, PolicyLink and Alliance for Boys and Men of Color are joining with other racial, economic, and social justice organizations for a week of solidarity and action. We are demanding our elected leaders address historical and current racial and economic inequities and invest in a future that benefits all Californians.Today, advocates are focused on re-imagining safety and public health and calling on Governor Newsom to #ChooseUs and invest in community-based alternatives to police.

Will you join today’s action and ask the Governor to support and fund the CRISES Act to invest in community-based responses to local crises? The #CRISESAct, AB 2054 (Kamlager), invests in community-based organizations, with in-depth knowledge of their communities, to provide support and care to vulnerable people in need, rather than the police. Every day, community-based organizations across California are successfully responding to emergencies and saving money and lives–but without adequate funding and support from the state to sustain these programs.

The CRISES Act will create a pilot grant program so that community-based organizations are resourced to respond to local emergencies, including: Public health crises, Un-housed people in crisis, People experiencing mental health crises, People exposed to intimate partner or community violence, People with a substance use disorder, People impacted by natural or climate disasters.

The CRISES Act is co-sponsored by the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, ACLU California, Anti Police-Terror Project, Berkeley Free Clinic, East Bay Community Law Center, Justice Teams Network, Oakland Power Projects, PolicyLink, Public Health Advocates, STOP Coalition, UDW/AFSCME Local 3930, and the Youth Justice Coalition. To save lives and increase public safety, California must finally invest in public health responses rooted in the community. Call the Governor and tell him safe communities are built through investments in our people–not policing. Help us pass the CRISES Act and build community-based responses that care for people in need. #HealthNotHandcuffs. 

Our mailing address is:

PolicyLink
1438 Webster St., Suite 303
Oakland, CA 94612