Alternatives to 911
Alternatives to 911 Community Skill-Building Workshop Series aims to equip community members with the knowledge and skills needed to engage in crisis intervention, without relying on the police. It seeks to build community capacity while rejecting police intervention and other forms of crisis response which are violent, punitive and carceral. Topics covered include transformative justice, de-escalation skills, harm reduction, cop-watching and more!
Inspired by AWARE Los Angeles’ Alternatives to Policing Project, we hope that the workshop series will catalyze the development of geographical pods (podmapping) where neighbors engage in deep relationship-building and collectively practice their newly gained community crisis intervention skills.
Check back here to register for all the scheduled sessions as they launch.
Upcoming Sessions:
Image description: We Keep Us Safe. Photo of protest supporting Palestine; Alternatives to 911 styled in colourful circle. Workshop description and registration link, summarized.
Thursday, February 15 at 7 PM
On Zoom; ASL interpretation and automatic CC provided
For over 4 months, we have taken to the streets in solidarity with Palestinians to demand a ceasefire and end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. For some of us, this was our first time attending protests! Yet, while we march, chant and build community, we are met with increasing police aggression. We know that police do not keep us safe at protests and instead have a long history of increasing violence and harm. As more people join the Free Palestine movement, we must collectively work to ensure that we reduce interactions with police and keep each other safe!
Join us for an online community conversation where we will skill-share and collectively build our capacity to keep each other safe at protests. Together, we will learn from one another, share practical tips and build our imagination of what’s possible. All experience levels are welcome and valid! ASL interpretation and closed captioning will be provided.
Past Sessions:
August 2, 2023: Transformative Justice and Podmapping with Rania el Mugammar
August 16, 2023: Indigenous Approaches to Collective Care with Saige McMahon
December 7, 2023: Mental Health 211: Supporting Youth in Crisis with Atreyu Lewis
Why Alternatives to 911?
For centuries, police have inflicted violence on Black, Indigenous and racialized communities as well as queer, disabled, mad, migrant, poor, houseless and sex worker communities. Even during situations of crisis, where support and care are needed, police violence is often present.
Rather than continuing to rely on forms of crisis response that are violent, punitive and carceral, we must build alternatives grounded in transformative justice, liberation and community care. Essential to building such alternatives is equipping ourselves and each other with the concrete skills needed to safely intervene in crisis intervention and strengthening our relationships with community members.
Through this series, SURJ Toronto hopes to undermine white support for police crisis intervention while collaborating with Black, Indigenous and racialized organizers to actualize alternatives to policing and, ultimately, build a police-free future.
Quote: Some people may ask, Does this mean that I can never call the cops if my life is in serious danger? Abolition does not center that question. Instead, abolition challenges us to ask Why do we have no other well-resourced options? and pushes us to creatively consider how we can grow, build, and try other avenues to reduce harm. - Mariame Kaba