Letter: Prioritize the Wellbeing of All Residents by Continuing to Fund CRESS and DEI Departments
by the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee and the former members of the Community Safety Working Group
The Community Safety and Social Justice Committee (CSSJC) reaffirms its support for fully realizing the Town of Amherst’s community safety and racial equity goals, including the ongoing operation of the Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service (CRESS) Department and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Department.
CRESS, envisioned by the Community Safety Working Group (CSWG), was recommended as an alternative response to policing for incidents that did not involve violence or a significant criminal act. The original recommendations included scaling up CRESS and scaling down the police department, as CRESS increased capacity to answer a wider range of calls. Rooted in anti-racist practice, its mission is to provide interventions consensually and non-coercively so as not to replicate current policing models.
This type of work is deliberate, and significant time can be spent in each intervention developing trust and building relationships. This also means that CRESS responders will not force a person into an outcome, whether housing for someone staying outside or treatment for someone using substances. Many people have experienced harm at the hands of current systems and may continue to distrust them. For example, people might have been physically or chemically restrained at a hospital due to experiencing mental health symptoms, causing them to avoid traditional mental health practitioners. People might have been turned away from a traditional shelter due to being under the influence of substances, causing them to stay on the streets. Many people experience shelters and hospital settings as triggering, whether due to loud environments or loss of control. As community members, we must shift our expectations around “results”, even when making well-intentioned calls for emergency response. CRESS has helped start the conversation about how this can be possible.
The CSSJC has heard from the current CRESS Director about progress made in collaboration with the dispatch center to ensure that CRESS is sent to appropriate calls. Given the leadership transitions since the department’s inception, CRESS may not be as far along as some community members would like to see in response to various non-criminal calls. However, the department has been increasing responsibility and outreach. With continued time and space to build these relationships with community members and other public safety and social service organizations, CRESS is on the path to becoming what the CSWG, residents and town envisioned as an alternative. CRESS has, and continues to make the town safer for everyone and decreasing funding will decrease its impact.
CSWG also recommended a well-staffed, well-funded DEI department. This Department was envisioned to “ensure tight alignment between town activity and the push to end systemic white supremacy in Amherst.” The Department has implemented its work in four areas: education, access and accountability, collaboration and belonging. Since beginning its work, the department has held many events in the community, both to celebrate the culture of the different residents of Amherst and to delve into and improve racial relations and understanding. It has supported town departments in assessing implicit bias. It has provided youth empowerment programming. It has done all this with a shoestring budget and a staff of two who are highly committed working with the community and community leaders to make Amherst a more inclusive and just town.
As the federal landscape shifts, we need strong local leadership. As a community, we need to continue to prioritize the well-being of all our residents by understanding and correcting ways our policies and practices have historically neglected those who are not white, wealthy and powerful. Amherst has been in the spotlight for its work on CRESS, and we must continue to build it into a program that will adequately serve our most marginalized neighbors and will be a model other municipalities will want to emulate. CRESS and DEI are complementary and are synergistic in working towards the Amherst we aspire to be. Continuing support for both CRESS and DEI will be imperative to making Amherst a welcoming, safe environment for all its residents.
Community Safety and Social Justice Committee of the Town of Amherst
Community Safety Working Group of the Town of Amherst