Marching for Change: CAHOOTS Joins Crime Survivors Speak at the U.S. Capitol

By Michelle Perin, CAHOOTS 

September 24, 2024: It was the morning of the march. I had flown over 2300 miles, and now I was looking for a place to sit and have my breakfast. The room was a bustle of activity—voices with shades of accents from all over the country.

Over 2,500 survivors had gathered here to participate in the Crime Survivors Speak March on Washington, and I was humbled to have been invited to participate. I sat down at a table occupied by three lovely ladies engaged in boisterous talk. I introduced myself, “I’m Michelle. I work for CAHOOTS, a mobile crisis team in Eugene/Springfield, Oregon.” She said she was with Mothers of Murdered Angels (Texas) and told me how she stood alone at the scene of her son’s murder. No officers, no paramedics, no one came to talk to her, to share space with her immense grief while she stood there, having just lost her son to gun violence. “If only we would have a team like yours,” she said. “If only.”

I was honored by her willingness to share her grief and the ask underneath her words. This would be the beginning of two days of statements reminding me of the importance of our work and the need to advocate for community-based mobile crisis teams throughout the country.

My co-worker Justin and I marched on the US Capitol on a drizzly, gray Washington, DC, day. The energy was electrifying, and I was grateful for the reason we got to be there. The year prior, as a representative of CAHOOTS, I had been invited to join the Alliance for Safety and Justice’s (ASJ) Scaling Safety Advisory Council. ASJ sought us out due to our history and reputation in redefining public safety and health since the 1980s.

The council meets quarterly, with one in-person meeting a year. In 2023, I was flown to New York City, where we had a planning session and met with representatives of the Newark, NJ, programs ASJ was supporting. Because that is what Scaling Safety is all about- providing technical and financial assistance to communities redefining public safety for themselves. We get to be a part of it. As if the march and the vigorous council meeting where we shared so many successes and struggles were not enough, it was announced that we will support five new cities in 2025! CAHOOTS will continue to be a vital part of crafting the future of community-based safety.

After finishing our last meal together, a successful march and meeting under our belts, it was time for Justin and I to leave. We had an early morning flight back to the west coast. I leaned into the embraces of the ASJ members who have become my friends and continue to inspire me. But what Lenore Anderson, ASJ co-founder and president, said touched me deeply and made me smile. She explained how she meets with lots of people, in fact she was going to the White House the next day, and how proud she is that ASJ can say, “We have CAHOOTS.” I’m so proud to be part of a program with that kind of reputation. After all these years, it’s what makes me continue to put on my CAHOOTS uniform, strap on a radio, and hit the streets to provide comfort and healing.

 

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