Alternatives To Police Exist. You Just Haven't Heard of Them.
While there is tremendous work yet to be done, there exist already examples of municipal programs where public health and harm reduction are the priority. CAHOOTS, which was launched as a community initiative in 1989, provides mobile crisis intervention around the clock in Oregon’s Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area. The program is funded by the cities and managed by the White Bird Clinic, a community health center in Eugene. Crisis responders can be reached through the police nonemergency line or 911. They are dispatched in pairs, are not trained in law enforcement, and do not carry weapons.