What happens when CAHOOTS shows up? “We let everyone know...we don’t carry weapons,” explained program coordinator Justin Madeira, in an interview for our new podcast, “Don’t Cop Out.” “We can’t take anyone away, we don’t carry cuffs. If someone doesn’t want our help...they don’t have to receive it.” Here’s why this is important.
This is the voluntary model: Police and EMS aren’t making decisions for you—you’re making the decisions about your own life. Unlike cops, when a CAHOOTS crisis worker arrives, they assess the physical and mental health needs of people in crisis, and work with them long-term to prevent future crises.
This approach encourages more people to ask for help when in trouble. From fears about immigration status and warrants to hospitalization trauma and anti-Black violence, many don’t even call 911 in the first place.
And when CAHOOTS shows up, community members respond differently: with trust. It isn’t “an us versus them situation,” Madeira said. “It’s another community member there.” Still, while CAHOOTS successfully responded to 13-17% of Eugene, Oregon’s police department calls, with less than 4% of the police’s operating budget, it’s now been defunded after decades. Despite its proven success, officials still say we need police to respond to all crises, not police alternatives.
To that, Madeira posed a critical question we can all ask ourselves in the face of crisis and conflict: “What does a police officer do in [this] situation that you feel is necessary?” To learn more about CAHOOTS, check out PushBlack’s “Don’t Cop Out” here: https://pushblack.news/46i