July 21st 2023.
Black women are once again leading the charge for change. Congresswomen Cori Bush and Ayanna Pressley have joined forces to reintroduce the People’s Response Act, a bill that grants funding to community-based organizations that provide alternatives to policing in incidents involving Black and Brown people in mental health crises.
As a former nurse, Congresswoman Bush has seen the devastating outcomes of having police respond to delicate issues, and believes it is her duty to help fix this problem.
“We cannot achieve safety by criminalizing mental health or criminalizing substance use and homelessness,” said Bush. “We cannot achieve safety by destroying lives instead of saving them.”
The People's Response Act was originally introduced in the House in 2021 and, if passed, would create a Division of Community Safety under the Department of Health and Human Services to promote public safety and help eradicate police violence against Black and Brown communities.
Congresswoman Pressley also expressed her support for the bill, “For too long, policing and incarceration have destabilized families, ravaged our communities, robbing us of countless Black and brown lives. It is time we make serious investments and solutions that are rooted in community and care.”
The bill would assist organizations in providing communities with unarmed first responders for mental health crises, violence interruption programs, housing security programs, programs for youth and families, survivors of violence, and individuals leaving prison or criminal supervision.
Congresswoman Bush believes that if this bill was to be passed, it would be an ode to those who have died and a way to prevent future abuses.
However, before the People's Response Act can be signed into law by President Biden, it must pass in both the House and the Senate.
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