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Naturally the pro-israel lobby on here are denying that such things ever happened. I’m sure that if they lose the argument they will decide that Quora doesn’t exist either.Here are some examples :-Fifteen-year-old Tariq Abukhdeir, a US citizen from Tampa, Florida, was savagely beaten by undercover Israeli police in the Shuafat neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem. The attack was caught on video, showing Israeli police repeatedly kicking and punching Abukhdeir in the face and head as he lay handcuffed on the ground.Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old activist from Olympia, Washington, was run over and killed by an Israeli soldier operating a militarized Caterpillar bulldozer as she nonviolently attempted to prevent a Palestinian home from being demolished in the Gaza Strip on 16 March 2003. Although the Israeli government promised the United States a “thorough, credible and transparent” investigation into her death, the State Department informed the Corrie family that the Israeli investigation did not meet these standards.On 5 April 2003, Brian Avery, a 24-year-old activist from Albuquerque, New Mexico, was shot in the face in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin by Israeli soldiers who fired machine guns from an armored personnel carrier.Tristan Anderson, a 37-year-old activist from Oakland, California, suffered permanent brain damage after Israeli forces shot him in the forehead with a high-velocity tear gas canister as he observed a protest in the West Bank village of Nilin in March 2009.Furkan Doğan, an 18-year-old Turkish resident born in Troy, New York, was killed aboard the Mavi Marmara in the Mediterranean Sea on 31 May 2010 as a flotilla of international activists attempted to break Israel’s illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip and to deliver humanitarian goods. The United Nations’ General Assembly Human Rights Council found that Doğan was killed by Israeli naval commandos in an “extra-legal, arbitrary and summary execution,” shot five times, including a shot to his face at “point blank range.”

There are a myriad of answers to this question, and hopefully I can give you a snippet of all the reasons I know of. 20th Century Flight out of cities is not just a Detroit problem. Actually, most of Detroit’s problems are not isolated to the city, however are compounded here due to poor leadership, corruption, and lack of planning. If you look at places like Cleveland, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Toledo, Gary, you will see similar patterns in urban development and population movements, however their leaders actions steered them to a new future, not just down a self-defeating path.TLDR:Detroit did not plan past the rapid rise of its economy and population, and ignored early signs that growth would slow or reverse. Discrimination and the process of integration led to tensions that caused overcrowding, and that caused white people of means to leave. Suburbs were allowed to deny people of color housing, so they were forced to stay in Detroit. Years later, integration failed as more people left and the state made incentives for development in the suburbs. As jobs dried up, more people of means left Detroit, and many fell into further poverty. The decimated tax base of Detroit was then expected to somehow keep up the glory days’ infrastructure, which led to high taxes for low value homes. More people left. The city power structure crumbled, and bickered across city and county lines, and systems like transit were taken away. More people left or slid into the cycle of poverty. Segregated schools inside the city became segregated schools between suburbs and Detroit. People are continually moving today to get better schools, and avoiding people of different backgrounds. Detroit borrowed money and made risky investments to make ends meet (Thanks Kwame) and when the market crashed, was hit even harder than everywhere else, and spiraled into bankruptcy. After 2008, many people lost their homes, so abandoned them or were foreclosed on. All these years of tensions have manifested in an “Us vs Them” mindset between the City and Burbs, which stops progress today (“Detroit Fatigue”). Meanwhile people think Quicken will fix everything, and we’re dealing with gentrification issues.1. White Flight due to desegregating neighborhoods, schools & Bussing.I think this is an extremely overlooked part of migration around Detroit. The Michigan radio post is excellent, but here’s a quick-ish recap.In the 1950’s, white people started leaving Detroit and moving to the suburbs. Meanwhile in 1954 Brown vs Board of Education said separate but equal was not equal. “By 1970, only one-in-three students at Detroit Public Schools was a white kid. And those white kids were concentrated in mostly white schools.” That is segregation.The school board tried to fix it, but white parents didn’t want to send their kids to black schools. (Look up the bussing programs) There were also members in the black community who wanted to keep majority black schools but increase their quality and hire more black teachers. “It got so bad someone threatened to kill a school board member. There were bomb threats, and students held walk outs.”“The law did give more neighborhood control over schools, but it also legalized segregation in the Detroit schools by allowing white kids to leave their neighborhood school that had a growing black population and transfer to one that was more white and vice versa.” This reinforced not only school segregation, but housing segregation.This is still going on. With school of choice, people can just leave their school for whatever reason, and go to another one. Instead of fixing our systems, we are abandoning them. I grew up in a white school district that was actively integrating, and a lot of my friends were moved to “better” schools, but I heard their parents say to “get away from those kids”. I mean, come on, it’s obvious. White kids are shuffling around to whiter schools, one wave ahead of families of color. Now we’re out to what, 29 mile?People buy houses based on the school ratings, and schools in many majority black areas have notoriously bad schools- and have had them since at least the 1950’s. The past 30 years, this has been not only white flight, but more of middle class flight. People of color with means leave and go to better districts.A moment in history that sealed the Detroit schools' fate2. “Blockbusting”, Redlining, Segregated housing and Riots/RebellionsSo, people move to nicer neighborhoods when they can afford them, right? And as written above, people moved to find a better school. Due to the auto industry, Detroit had one of the wealthiest African American populations in America. But, they were blocked from buying land, therefore having property to pass to future generations, not included in housing benefits, and were kept out of neighborhoods that were for “whites only” literally up until the late 1970’s.List of some discriminatory laws.The National Housing Act of 1934: Began redlining practice, outlining “safe” neighborhoods for development.The Housing Act of 1937: Created New Deal public housing for poor, relocating people of color to one neighborhoodThe GI Bill (1944): Black veterans didn’t get the benefits, because the neighborhoods that supported GI bill money were “European American only” because “crime” apparentlyThese three laws concentrated blacks to specific (overcrowded) areas, which were then demolished to create freeways, demolishing the only areas that let black people live there led to overcrowding in other neighborhoods…. Look up Hastings Street and Paradise Valley.Some examples of people complaining about other people “Taking over” and how they’ll move out to retaliate. Detroit's white racist heritage ... in lettersThen, 1967 riots (or rebellion) happen largely due to overcrowding in neighborhoods. Whites run faster, blaming the riot. But in reality, white flight was in full swing for over a decade.The Fair Housing Act (1968) : outright refusal to sell property to African Americans became rareNixon's Fair Housing Policy (1971) : government could not force suburban desegregation or economic/racial integrationSo, naturally, white people left faster for the suburbs where black people were not welcome or allowed.The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977: one of several acts that stopped lenders from discriminatory practices (disclaimer, they found other ways like misinformation to discriminate)To this day, discrimination and segregation are rampant in Metro Detroit. Just look at 8 mile- it is a clear demarcated line of race. Heck, even look at Southfield.While white people say they are pro-integration, they leave once enough African American families move in. Again, we’re out to 29-31 mile road in Macomb County. Also gentrification of neighborhoods forces people out of neighborhoods that are on the rise, but that’s a whole different post.3. Single-Economies and a failure to adaptYou’ll hear a lot about Detroit failing because it put all its eggs in the automotive basket. That wasn’t the only reason why Detroit’s economy failed it. Detroit structured itself – its built environment, its housing, its jobs, its laws- on keeping its corporations happy. It also kept expanding without oversight, and in doing so restricted its industrial growth. The Outer drive ring encompassed factories that needed space. Instead of expanding in place, they relocated to the suburbs- taking jobs with them. More recently, the economic crash and moving jobs to the south have hurt the region. Also, automation took away many auto jobs.Which leads back to education. Line jobs are now done by robots- so you need to step up your game and have people who are able to do what robots can’t. And this takes education. We’ve already established the horrible school conditions in Detroit… so we don’t have a working solution to keep good jobs in Detroit for Detroiters without proper education. And with Lansing’s recent efforts to cut education funding, this is unlikely to change.Also, corporations ran Detroit’s development for a long time. From Urbanophile:“So why has Detroit suffered unlike any other major city? Planning, or the lack thereof for more than a century, is why Detroit stands out. While cities like Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles (don’t laugh — Detroit and LA essentially boomed at the same time) put a premium on creating pleasant built environments for their residents. Detroit was unique in putting all its eggs in the corporate caretaker basket. Once the auto industry became established in Detroit, political and business leaders abdicated their responsibility on sound urban planning and design, and elected to let the booming economy do the work for them.” http://www.urbanophile.com/2012/02/21/the-reasons-behind-detroits-decline-by-pete-saunders/This has been widely recognized, and was part of the Detroit Long Term Planning (now Detroit Future City) work. I have a background in Architecture and Planning. There is so much room for improvement in Detroit. There were also so many decisions made in the name of progress that killed the neighborhood.https://detroitfuturecity.com/4. Infrastructure favoring Suburb development and “Us vs them”The down low: Building freeways through Detroit neighborhoods gave people with cars access to the suburbs, and made it viable for them to leave while also destroying communities (See Poletown, Paradise Valley) Again, white neighborhoods were able to lobby for the roads to miss their homes, not so much neighborhoods of different complexions. People were already leaving Detroit, but this sped up the flight and made more land viable for commutable housing. https://detroitenvironment.lsa.umich.edu/they-paved-paradise-and-put-up-a-freeway-demolishing-detroits-hastings-street/Also, businesses were incentivized to move to the suburbs – so they did.There are two characters I would like you to look into. L. Brooks Patterson, and Coleman Young. Patterson is the Oakland County executive. Coleman Young was the first black mayor of Detroit. Both are extremely divisive people, and both are regarded as heroes and villains depending on who you ask.Their stories, and how much they hated each other, really show the tensions and prejudices that exist today.https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-07-25/detroit-is-dead-dot-long-live-oakland-countyThis tension extends to Lansing, where legislators are sick of hearing about Detroit.http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/editorials/2016/09/08/detroit-gop-lansing/89961588/.5. Lack of thoughtful development & Taxes rising.This covers a wide range of missed opportunities, and systems falling apart due to lack of funding and political stagnation. I could go on for days about this, but here’s just one paragraph. Essentially, the quicker they rise, the harder they fall. Detroit rose quickly on industry, then failed to plan for that rise to stop. There were signs in the 1940’s that our growth was unsustainable, but we continued merrily building without a plan until it was way too late.A lot of Detroit’s infrastructure was built before 1950. The sewers, roads, traffic lights, street lights, building stock, water hookup connected a huge city that was hemorrhaging residents. For example, a block that would have hosted 500 households in 1950 had a larger capacity than was needed for the 100 that remain today. 500 households paying taxes into the city infrastructure could support the system, 100 cannot. But the roads still needed to be fixed! Elderly workers who were promised pensions still needed to be supported. Water had to stay on, so taxes were raised on the 100 families, instead of rethinking how to deliver services. At the same time taxes went up, home values went down because there are now so many vacancies on the block. People are still leaving Detroit today in part because of tax rates and home values.Cities like Pittsburgh made reinvested and downsized services much earlier than Detroit (like in the 50’s-70’s), instead of treading down a self-imploding debt path. Detroit’s leaders instead invested in risky funds with pension money, accepted bribes and let corruption run rampant (Thanks Kwame) and lost a whole lot of money in 2008-2009. This led (some say sped up the path) to the bankruptcy.How Kwame Kilpatrick's Wall Street Deal Helped Bankrupt Detroit And Fuel Corruption6. Lack of resources to help the people who remainDetroit has a crime problem. We all know it. But what did you expect to happen when middle class and upper class people leave a city and take the jobs with them? People turn to crime to survive, then they are jailed and denied more work and a vote. “Prison pipeline” comes to mind here.Also, 2012, pre-bankruptcy wait times for ambulances and police service wait times were awful. Atrocious. It is common knowledge in Detroit that if you can you take yourself to the hospital. Charlie LeDuff did this piece on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3jYWsR4VWc I remember watching this on the news.My friend’s grandfather was shot on his own front lawn from a stray bullet from bad drug deal on the corner… the police didn’t come for 4 hours, so her father cleaned up his body so his mother wouldn’t have to see her husband’s body anymore… they left the city after this. Good people are hurt by high crime and low services. And the people in this situation leave if they can. Or they have to stay, and they do what they can to improve their neighborhood themselves.7. Market Crash of 2008A LOT of people lost their home, so they left the city. 140,000 properties foreclosed on. A lot of people had homes drop to near-zero values, so they abandoned them. It was cheaper to abandon than to try to fix and sell. It only takes 6 months for a house to look decrepit. And with looters, it can take an hour. Wall Street crimes really did a number on Detroit, and hopefully we can recover.http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/special-reports/2015/05/14/detroit-abandoned-homes-volume-terrifying/27237787/SummaryThere are so many reasons people have left. There are also many reasons people stay. I live in Detroit now, and I try to do what I can to be knowledgeable about how the city got where it is, and how I can help out my neighbors. My thesis was on Memory and the Built environment, and my personal opinion is that if we forget, we repeat our mistakes. I also think there is a lack of compassion for each other in Michigan that only hurts its people. Some of the country’s richest cities, towns, and counties are right across the street from the poorest zip codes in America. People came to Detroit for opportunities. When they made it, they left. When they failed, they also left. There’s still hope through all of this, but there is a lot of denial about our personal roles towards Detroit’s decline and the conditions of the people who live there. We need to work together as a region to succeed. Hopefully learning from our history and the current forward momentum will lead us to a new golden age for all of Detroit – not just yuppies like me who live downtown.Here’s a quick timeline: http://theweek.com/articles/461968/rise-fall-detroit-timelineNY Time’s take on this: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/08/17/us/detroit-decline.html?_r=0READ THIS BOOK!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Origins_of_the_Urban_CrisisAlso, next year is the 50th anniversary of the 1967 riots. There is a multi-year effort to cover all views and create an inclusive oral history of the event, and the events leading up to it. If you are interested, or even want to contribute, visit the site here: http://www.detroit1967.org/

My favorite answer to this question are programs like Eugene Oregon's CAHOOTS program that started in 1989. Its operated under Eugene Police Department.This program is slowly expanding because various cities throughout the country have called on them.Chris Pietsch/The Register-GuardEugene Police officer Bo Rankin talking with White Bird Clinic coordinator Ben Brubaker and CAHOOTS emergency crisis worker Matt Eads, Eugene, Oregon, October 2019CAHOOTS workers help an unidentified individual into the back of their van, who requested assistance finding shelter.CAHOOTS – White Bird ClinicWhite Bird ClinicMENUCAHOOTSSEPTEMBER 29, 2020What is CAHOOTS?31 years ago the City of Eugene, Oregon developed an innovative community-based public safety system to provide mental health first response for crises involving mental illness, homelessness, and addiction. White Bird Clinic launched CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) as a community policing initiative in 1989.The CAHOOTS model has been in the spotlight recently as our nation struggles to reimagine public safety. The program mobilizes two-person teams consisting of a medic (a nurse, paramedic, or EMT) and a crisis worker who has substantial training and experience in the mental health field. The CAHOOTS teams deal with a wide range of mental health-related crises, including conflict resolution, welfare checks, substance abuse, suicide threats, and more, relying on trauma-informed de-escalation and harm reduction techniques. CAHOOTS staff are not law enforcement officers and do not carry weapons; their training and experience are the tools they use to ensure a non-violent resolution of crisis situations. They also handle non-emergent medical issues, avoiding costly ambulance transport and emergency room treatment.A November 2016 study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine estimated that 20% to 50% of fatal encounters with law enforcement involved an individual with a mental illness. The CAHOOTS model demonstrates that these fatal encounters are not inevitable. Last year, out of a total of roughly 24,000 CAHOOTS calls, police backup was requested only 150 times.The cost savings are considerable. The CAHOOTS program budget is about $2.1 million annually, while the combined annual budgets for the Eugene and Springfield police departments are $90 million. In 2017, the CAHOOTS teams answered 17% of the Eugene Police Department’s overall call volume. The program saves the city of Eugene an estimated $8.5 million in public safety spending annually.CAHOOTS calls come to Eugene’s 911 system or the police non-emergency number. Dispatchers are trained to recognize non-violent situations with a behavioral health component and route those calls to CAHOOTS. A team will respond, assess the situation and provide immediate stabilization in case of urgent medical need or psychological crisis, assessment, information, referral, advocacy, and, when warranted, transportation to the next step in treatment.White Bird’s CAHOOTS provides consulting and strategic guidance to communities across the nation that are seeking to replicate CAHOOTS’ model. Contact us if you are interested in our consultation services program.Also See:CAHOOTS info pageCAHOOTS in the NewsSEPTEMBER 5, 2020CNN features CAHOOTS Police AlternativeBy Scottie Andrew, CNN, July 5, 2020Around 30 years ago, a town in Oregon retrofitted an old van, staffed it with young medics and mental health counselors and sent them out to respond to the kinds of 911 calls that wouldn’t necessarily require police intervention.In the town of 172,000, they were the first responders for mental health crises, homelessness, substance abuse, threats of suicide — the problems for which there are no easy fixes. The problems that, in the hands of police, have often turned violent.Today, the program, called CAHOOTS, has three vans, more than double the number of staffers and the attention of a country in crisis.CAHOOTS is already doing what police reform advocates say is necessary to fundamentally change the US criminal justice system — pass off some responsibilities to unarmed civilians.Read more…AUGUST 4, 2020Senator Wyden to introduce the CAHOOTS ActU.S. Sen. Ron Wyden announced plans to introduce a bill in the U.S. Senate aimed at bringing CAHOOTS response model mental health services to cities and towns across the nation through increased Medicaid funding.“It’s long past time to re-imagine policing in ways that reduce violence and structural racism, and health care can play a key role in that effort,” Wyden said. “Oregon has a proven model in the CAHOOTS program, and I want other states and communities to have federal resources to pursue similar approaches. Americans struggling with mental illness don’t always require law enforcement to be dispatched when they are experiencing a crisis – CAHOOTS is proof positive there is another way.”“For individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis, the assistance of trained health care and social workers is more effective than interventions from law enforcement in deescalating the situation and helping to connect those individuals with vital services to address the problems that led to the crisis,” said Cortez Masto. “I’m proud to support legislation that will provide Nevada and states across the country with additional Medicaid funding to help them set up mobile crisis teams that have a proven track-record of providing effective, trauma-informed care to those in need.”“We hope that the CAHOOTS model pioneered by White Bird Clinic in Eugene, OR can help communities across the United States develop public safety systems that align with their values,” said Chris Hecht, Executive Coordinator of White Bird Clinic. “Dispatching medical and behavioral health professionals to care for community members in crisis is a proven way to improve outcomes, combat racism, and avoid violence. We thank Senator Wyden for this legislation because we are eager to share a model that has succeeded in our community for 31 years.”The bill, the Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS) Act, grants states enhanced federal Medicaid funding (a 95% federal match) for three years to provide community-based mobile crisis services to individuals experiencing a mental health or SUD crisis. It also provides $25 million for planning grants to states to help establish or build out mobile crisis programs.The bill is part of Wyden’s agenda to address a persistent lack of access to mental health care for too many Americans. He is also pursuing legislation to support access to wraparound services that help individuals after the initial crisis response.A one page summary of the bill can be found here. Legislative text can be found here.parked cahoots vanJULY 25, 2020Rep. Rashida Tlaib: The Case for an Emergency Responder Corpsby Rashida Tlaib Apr 23, 2020 in “The Appeal”What would an Emergency First Responders Corps look like?“The most important aspect of the Emergency First Responder Corps is that it must be civilian and designed to help people. The idea isn’t novel — it is something neighbors have been doing for centuries, and the time is now to take comprehensive approach to formalizing it to help our most vulnerable communities.A good model of this exists in Eugene, Oregon, CAHOOTS — Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets — has worked for decades to help people in crisis. They deal with those who are suicidal, houseless, infirm, or just having trouble getting the basics they need to survive. It’s fully integrated into the local service community. And they are effective. In 2018, CAHOOTS responded to 24,000 calls. CAHOOTS and the White Bird Clinic were recently awarded federal funding to expand telemedicine access during the current pandemic.”Read More…The Briefing: a new vision for first responders during the COVID-19 pandemicCAHOOTS program coordinator Tim Black joined Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and our self-described “biggest fan of CAHOOTS in the Rockies” Colorado State Representative Leslie Herod to discuss the CAHOOTS model and why there is a need for a behavioral health branch of public safety in communities across the nation.JULY 15, 2020Citing CAHOOTS as a Model for ReformSenator Ron Wyden will meet with White Bird CAHOOTS staff at CAHOOTS headquarters at 970 W 7th Ave in Eugene to discuss how this groundbreaking program can be a model for a national policing reform package and how Congress can best support the work. “The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 takes a vital first step toward accountability, and I am all in with pressing forward to achieve this legislation’s urgently needed re-focus of resources and policies,” said Sen. Wyden. Sen. Wyden co-sponsored the legislation, which would hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement and build trust between law enforcement and communities in Oregon and nationwide.31 years ago White Bird Clinic launched CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) as a community policing initiative to provide mental health first response for crises involving mental illness, homelessness, and addiction. CAHOOTS offers compassionate, effective, timely care while diverting a considerable portion of the public safety workload, conserving police and fire department capacity. In 2019, CAHOOTS handled 17% of the Eugene Police Department’s calls. In 2017, police officers nationally spent 21% of their time responding to or transporting people with mental illness.Dispatching appropriate responders for each unique situation is essential to ensuring the best outcome. CAHOOTS focuses exclusively on meeting the medical and mental health needs of the community, making it more appropriate, economical, and effective than traditional models involving agencies with a much larger scope of responsibility.Police officers and fire fighters receive training in a broad set of skills, making their deployment to non-emergent situations unnecessarily costly. The CAHOOTS model also ensures that health and behavioral health care are integrated from the onset of intervention and treatment, adding to the efficacy and economy of the model.White Bird’s CAHOOTS program has attracted notice from international news media as communities across the nation and around the world confront the need to reimagine public safety to ensure that it equitably serves human beings of all races and ethnicities.CAHOOTS is providing strategic guidance and training to assist communities in developing innovative public safety systems that align with their values.In 1969, a group of student activists and concerned practitioners came together to provide crisis services and free medical care for counter-culture youth in Eugene, OR. Having grown continuously since then, today White Bird Clinic has 10 programs, 220 staff members, and more than 400 volunteers each year.DOWNLOAD PRESS RELEASE (PDF)JULY 3, 2020Community-Based Emergency First Responders: ExplainedIn The Appeal‘s Explainer series, Justice Collaborative lawyers, journalists, and other legal experts help unpack some of the most complicated issues in the criminal justice system.Co-authors Tim Black, CAHOOTS Operations Coordinator, and Patrisse Cullors, Artist and Activist, “break down the problems behind the headlines—like bail, civil asset forfeiture, or the Brady doctrine—so that everyone can understand them. Wherever possible, we try to utilize the stories of those affected by the criminal justice system to show how these laws and principles should work, and how they often fail.”Continue to articleJUNE 14, 2020Racism is a Public Health CrisisA Statement from CAHOOTSWritten by Ebony MorganCAHOOTS Crisis InterventionCommunications TeamCahoots has been operating as a mobile crisis intervention program in Eugene since 1989. We respond in teams of two with a medic and trained crisis worker, handling 20% of the 911 calls in our area last year. This is a responsibility we take extremely seriously, and we feel privileged to do this work.Across the nation, communities are demanding that elected leaders defund police, reallocate resources, and re-evaluate current approaches to public safety. As the first program of our kind, we are in a unique position to share our experience and knowledge with other cities that are now considering alternatives to policing. We are humbled by this and have become acutely aware of our privileged position within a system designed to oppress.At our roots, Cahoots is innovative, forward-thinking, and dedicated to serving marginalized populations. Despite this, we are not immune to the effects of systemic racism and if we are going to lead by example, we must first do the work internally. We take responsibility for our past silence, and we commit to being advocates for change. We are actively seeking out, evaluating, and eradicating the ways that white supremacy exists within our structure and we encourage other organizations to do the same.Cahoots proudly stands with Black Lives Matter. We believe it is not enough simply to disapprove of racism. Rather, we assert that individuals, organizations, communities, and the nation as a whole have a responsibility to be anti-racist. We will speak up when we see power inequities. We will amplify oppressed voices. We will continue to educate ourselves. We will not shy away from any aforementioned commitments due to potential risks. We will reflect regularly and welcome feedback as we learn to use our privilege constructively.We are appalled by the lynching of George Floyd, aware that he was not the first nor the last to die a preventable death due to the color of his skin. Police brutality is not an isolated issue. It is a symptom of the broader toxic culture of white supremacy that was woven into the fiber of this nation as we know it during its inception.Racism is a public health crisis. For the sake of health equity, we have a responsibility to dismantle systems of oppression. This will take a lot of effort and we will have to be intentional about addressing racism’s effects on the social determinants of health. We must begin this work immediately.JUNE 13, 2020LA Times looks to Northwest cities to reimagine law enforcementBy RICHARD READSEATTLE BUREAU CHIEFLos Angeles TimesJUNE 12, 2020“Across the nation, political leaders are struggling to strike a balance between righting injustices in ways that might mollify those protesting racism and brutality while at the same time maintaining public safety. Some of the more original experiments in reimagining policing are unfolding in the Pacific Northwest…teams in Eugene handled 18% of the 133,000 calls to 911 last year, requesting police backup only 150 times, said Chris Hecht, executive coordinator of White Bird Clinic, which runs the operation called Cahoots. The program, short for Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets, operated on a $2-million budget last year that he said saved the Eugene-Springfield, Ore., area about $14 million in costs of ambulance transport and emergency room care.Hecht said that the teams, in place for three decades, can arrive at the scene of a homeless person experiencing a physical or mental health crisis, defuse the situation and prevent harm in ways that police officers are neither trained nor equipped to do.“The folks we’re working with often have a history of really unfortunate interactions with police, hospitals or other institutions,” Hecht said. “When a couple of people step out of one of our vans wearing jeans and hoodies, just right there we have a leg up on our colleagues in public safety.”Read more…JUNE 12, 2020Examples Of Reimagining Police Departments That Show Promise – NPR Morning EditionNPR Morning Edition took a look at effective alternatives to police response that keep people out of jails and emergency rooms. Tim Black from CAHOOTS is featured at about 7:08.JUNE 10, 2020CAHOOTS featured on All Things ConsideredNPR’s Ari Shapiro talked with crisis workers Benjamin Brubaker and Ebony Morgan at White Bird Clinic in Eugene, Ore., about their Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets program as an alternative to police intervention. Read the transcript…JUNE 9, 2020The National Asks “What could defunding the police look like?”The National, a nightly news program from Canada’s public broadcaster CBC, interviewed Tim Black and Ebony Morgan from CAHOOTS about our alternative model to police intervention for crisis response.JUNE 8, 2020Cities Ask if It’s Time to Defund Police and ‘Reimagine’ Public Safety’from the New York Times, June 5, 2020“One model that members of the Minneapolis City Council cite is Cahoots, a nonprofit mobile crisis intervention program that has handled mental health calls in Eugene, OR since 1989.CAHOOTS employees responded to more than 24,000 calls for service last year — about 20 percent of the area’s 911 calls — on a budget of about $2 million, probably far less than what it would cost the Police Department to do the work, said coordinator Tim Black.“There’s a strong argument to be made from a fiscally conservative perspective,” Mr. Black said. “Public safety institutions generally have these massive budgets and there’s questions about what they are doing.”Read more…OCTOBER 23, 2019CAHOOTS Mobile Mental Health Intervention Program In The NewsWhite Bird’s CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) program continues to make headlines. CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell correspondent Omar Villafranca went on a ride-along with CAHOOTS to see them at work and learn why the program is being considered by cities across the country.NBC News featured the team’s approach in their feature “Taking police officers out of mental health-related 911 rescues.”Denver police officials said they are considering the model as an option to push beyond their existing co-responder program. New York City is looking to the program as “a model for non-police response to non-criminal emergencies.”Salem nonprofits are looking at the model for mobile crisis response. “CAHOOTS gets 2 percent of the police budget, but with that 2 percent they handle 17 percent of public safety calls,” said Ashley Hamilton, who’s helping spearhead the idea.Rogue Valley law enforcement, mental health professionals and advocates, elected officials and other concerned community members gathered at the Medford Police Department to hear Tim Black talk via Skype about the program in September. In November, city commissioners are expected to discuss how the program would work in Portland.The power of White Bird’s CAHOOTS program lies in its community relationships and the ability of first responders to simply ask, ‘How can I support you today?’ White Bird Clinic is proud to be a part of spreading this type of response across Oregon and the rest of the United States.Read our recent mentions in the news…tim in californiaJUNE 25, 2019Mental Health First Responders Visit OaklandWhite Bird Clinic’s CAHOOTS program is meeting with stakeholders to share an innovative model for mobile crisis intervention that would otherwise be handled by public safety or emergency medical response.OAKLAND, CA – White Bird Clinic of Eugene, OR has developed an innovative public/private partnership delivering crisis and community health first response effectively and at significant cost savings. For thirty years, CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) has been providing mobile crisis intervention 24/7, dispatched through the EMS non-emergency system. This week, members of CAHOOTS are in Oakland to meet with the Mayor, the Coalition for Police Accountability, and other community stakeholders to discuss implementing the innovative model locally.Each CAHOOTS team consists of a medic (a nurse or an EMT) with a crisis worker who has substantial training and experience in the mental health field. The team provides behavioral health first response/responders, immediate stabilization in case of urgent medical need or psychological crisis, assessment, information, referral, advocacy and, when warranted, transportation to the next step in treatment.White Bird Clinic started CAHOOTS in 1989 in partnership with the Eugene Police Department as a community policing initiative. CAHOOTS offers compassionate, effective, timely care while diverting a considerable portion of the public safety workload, freeing the police and fire departments to respond to the highest priority calls. CAHOOTS handles 17% of the Eugene Police Department’s non-emergency calls. In 2017, police officers nationally spent 21% of their time responding to or transporting people with mental illness.CAHOOTS focuses exclusively on meeting the medical and mental health needs of the community, making it both more economical and more effective than traditional models involving agencies with a larger scope of responsibility. Police officers and firefighters receive comprehensive training in a broad set of skills, making their deployment to non-emergent situations unnecessarily costly. The CAHOOTS model also ensures that health and behavior health care are integrated from the onset of intervention and treatment, adding to the efficacy and economy of the model.White Bird’s CAHOOTS program has attracted notice, from national news media as well as from communities across the country. The Wall Street Journal’s November 24th article When Mental- Health Experts, Not Police, Are the First Responders showcased CAHOOTS as an innovative model for reducing the risk of violent civilian/police encounters. Communities from California to New York have asked for strategic guidance and training so they can replicate CAHOOTS’ success.Currently, CAHOOTS is working with the following communities:Olympia, WAPortland, ORDenver, CONew York, NYIndianapolis, INRoseburg, ORIn 1969, a group of student activists and concerned practitioners came together to provide crisis services and free medical care for counter-culture youth in Eugene, OR. Having grown continuously since then, today White Bird Clinic has 10 programs, 220 staff members, and more than 400 volunteers each year. White Bird Clinic is a collective environment organized to empower people to gain control of their social, emotional, and physical well-being through direct service, education, and community.The mission of the Coalition for Police Accountability is to advocate for accountability of the Oakland Police Department to the community so that the Oakland Police Department operates with equitable, just, constitutional, transparent policies and practices that reflect the values and engender the trust of the community.MARCH 19, 2019CAHOOTS Model Featured in Street Roots Newspaper article “Rethinking our first response”Kaia Sands, Executive Director of Street Roots, a Portland newspaper that creates income opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and poverty through media that is a catalyst for individual and social change, visited White Bird Clinic’s mobile crisis support program, CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) this month.In 2019, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Police Chief Danielle Outlaw and Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty’s staff have all come to Eugene to learn about the CAHOOTS model response to non-criminal matters resulting from homelessness. Kaia joined our crisis worker and medic team for a shift and shared her story, available in PDF for download here with permission.Street Roots visit to CAHOOTS helped to inform their plan for a Portland Street Response team. This would be a non-law enforcement system of six well-marked mobile response vans teamed with a specially-trained firefighter-EMT and peer support specialist dispatched through both 911 and nonemergency channels. Street Roots explores how these issues are being responded to in Portland and Eugene and how we can build a better system. Read more (PDF)…NOVEMBER 30, 2018When Mental-Health Experts, Not Police, Are the First RespondersThe Wall Street Journal featured CAHOOTS as a model for reducing risk of violence in a November 24, 2018 article by Zusha Elinson.It is included below and as a PDF with permission from the publisher.NOVEMBER 2, 2018CAHOOTS and White Bird Clinic Recognized as “Best Program for the Homeless”We are happy to announce that we received both first and second place recognition for “Best Program for the Homeless” in Eugene Weekly‘s annual 2018 Best of Eugene. CAHOOTS took first place and White Bird Clinic took second. Read more…SEPTEMBER 24, 2018Opiate Overdose ResponseThis past weekend represented an unusually high number of heroin and other opiate overdoses in the Eugene/Springfield area, but these overdoses have been in keeping with recently observed trends. There have been two distinct patterns of heroin and other opiate related overdoses occurring with increased frequency: poly-substance OD’s and fentanyl contaminated OD’s:Poly-substance overdoses present a unique frustration to first-responders because they generally combine opiates, alcohol, and other substances often including benzodiazopenes or other prescription pharmaceuticals, which requires field stabilization and hospital treatment.Fentanyl contamination has been detected in various street drugs and counterfeit prescription medications in the Pacific Northwest, and has been particularly common locally in a strain of heroin that has been encountered by users and first responders in recent weeks.Lane Co. EMS, EPD, SPD, and CAHOOTS all carry the opiate overdose reversing medication Naloxone, commonly referred to by its trade name, Narcan. Naloxone is administered to treat overdose patients presenting with respiratory distress caused by the overdose, the medication enters the respiratory center of the brain stem and flushes neural synapses by out-competing the opiates present in the blood stream to to temporarily reverse respiratory inhibition; for patients whose breathing has ceased Naloxone is frequently administered along with CPR.CAHOOTS, specifically, has not experienced a significant increase in overdose responses, largely because the increased public awareness of the opiate crisis has increased the aggressiveness of EMS and law enforcement responses to these emergencies. White Bird’s main clinic staff including the Crisis Team and Front Rooms/Reception staff have, on the other hand, reported a significant increase in interventions this year, with three incidents of Naloxone and CPR administration in the past 2 months. White Bird has begun the process of standardizing Naloxone training for all staff in addition to First Aid and CPR requirements.Locally, the increased frequency of opiate overdoses has not been accompanied by a proportionate increase in overdose deaths. Increased public awareness has led to increased public involvement, with bystander-administered Naloxone and CPR saving brain tissue and lives prior to professional responders arriving on scene, and with increased awareness of Oregon’s Good Samaritan Law amongst drug users reducing the fear and stigma associated with calling 911 to seek assistance in an emergency.The lives saved have demonstrated the benefits of harm reduction policies:Public health education and outreach efforts increase awareness of the situation, increasing the likelihood of an overdose being recognized and treated.Good Samaritan Laws provide bystanders who interact with law enforcement temporary respite from prosecution, decreasing the likelihood of an overdose patient being abandoned.Broad availability of Naloxone—it is available over-the-counter at most pharmacies free of charge for individuals covered by private insurance or OHP and is also available free of charge along with training through HIV Alliance—increases the likelihood of the medication being available in the event of an emergency.Bystander education including CPR training for community groups and Naloxone administration training for users, their peers, families, and those who work with them facilitates rapid overdose intervention.Aggressive EMS and police responses to overdoses due to their increased public profile decreases the likelihood of overdose patients fleeing the scene of their resuscitation, only to cease breathing again due to lack of follow-up care.The Eugene HIV Alliance, through their syringe exchange program, has made the injectable form of Narcan available. It also provides training to individuals and groups on how to administer it.The syringe exchange is held five days a week at different locations, and the service is free.SEPTEMBER 19, 2018Eugene Out of the Darkness Community WalkWhen you walk in the Out of the Darkness Walks, you join the effort with hundreds of thousands of people to raise awareness and funds that allow the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) to invest in new research, create educational programs, advocate for public policy, and support survivors of suicide loss.CAHOOTS will be tabling and answering questions about what services we provide and how to access them. We will also be facilitating a safe space for anyone struggling with emotions in reference to the event.Event DetailsWalk Date: 09/30/2018Walk Location: Alton Baker Park – Eugene, ORCheck-in/Registration Time: 09/30/2018 at 10:00 amWalk Begins: 11:00 amWalk Ends: 1:00 pmFor more information, please contact:Contact Name: Sara ScofieldContact Phone: 541-513-5937Contact Email: [email protected] registration closes at noon (local time) the Friday before the walk. However, anyone who would like to participate can register in person at the walk from the time check-in begins until the walk starts. Registration is free and open to the public. Walk donations are accepted until December 31st.MAY 24, 2018CAHOOTS Receives EPD 2018 Partnership AwardCongratulations to CAHOOTS medic and crisis workers Rose Fenwick and Kimber Hawes, who were honored at a ceremony yesterday by the Eugene Police Department with the 2018 Partnership Award! Thank you for your care and compassion in serving our community.APRIL 11, 2018CAHOOTS Receives 2018 Excellence in Public Health AwardOn April 10th, CAHOOTS was selected by the Lane County Board of Commissioners as a recipient of the 2018 Excellence in Public Health Award. The award was presented during the Commissioners’ meeting to recognize the CAHOOTS team’s work in the field as behavioral health first responders, as well as their efforts in outreach, training, education, and support for individuals and groups throughout the area.FEBRUARY 5, 2018White Bird Crisis Response at Academy of Arts and Academics in SpringfieldFollowing recent events at the Academy of Arts and Academics in Springfield, counselors from CAHOOTS and White Bird Clinic’s Crisis office responded to the school to provide grief and loss counseling to students, staff, and their families. An extension of the weekly Mobile Mental Health Resource Clinic already staffed by members of the CAHOOTS team, these counselors facilitated both individual and group counseling and will continue to work with A3 and the Springfield School District to support everyone affected by this tragedy.CAHOOTS mobile crisis counseling services are available in Springfield 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and can be requested via Springfield Police non-emergency dispatch at (541)726-3714.Additional crisis support is also available 24/7 by phone at (541)687-4000, or walk-in at White Bird’s Crisis clinic, 341 E. 12th Ave in Eugene.JANUARY 5, 2018Helping People in Crisis: Register-Guard EditoralThe CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) program began in Eugene in 1989 as a collaboration between the city of Eugene and White Bird Clinic.CAHOOTS started small: one van equipped with medical supplies and trained personnel, operating part-time in Eugene. Its mission was simple: to offer help to individuals and families, housed and unhoused, in crisis.The idea was that it would be better — and cheaper — to have people trained and experienced in counseling and medical care to respond to these calls, which had been going to police and fire departments.The wisdom of that decision has been amply borne out since then by CAHOOTS’ exponential growth over the last three decades and the place it has made for itself in the Eugene-Springfield community.It has more than tripled its local presence with two vans in Eugene and one in Springfield, and gone from part-time patrols to 24-7 service.The two-person teams that staff each van respond to an average of about 15 to 16 calls in a 12-hour shift in Eugene, although it can be as many as 25 calls per shift — slightly less in Springfield, CAHOOTS­ employee Brenton Gicker says, which works out to tens of thousands of calls per year.Gicker is a registered nurse and emergency medical technician; his partner on a recent night, Maddy Slayden, is a paramedic.They and their co-workers are a welcome presence on the streets of Eugene-Springfield, greeted with warmth by police officers, with relief by business owners who prefer the option of calling CAHOOTS to calling police, and with respect by the people they help.CAHOOTS is a significant part of the network of organizations and agencies that provide help to the growing number of people who are homeless locally — about half of CAHOOTS’ calls are to help someone who is homeless, ranging in age from children to seniors.The CAHOOTS teams have earned respect in the homeless community not just for the help they provide — from distributing socks and bottles of water to emergency medical care and help accessing resources such as medical treatment and emergency shelter — but by the way they do it.The CAHOOTS employees offer dignity and courtesy, which are often in short supply for people who are homeless.A typical shift — if there were such a thing — for a CAHOOTS team might include responding to a call about a homeless person disrupting a business; working with a family in crisis; helping someone who is suffering from substance abuse, mental illness or developmental disabilities access services and find safe shelter for the night; treating injuries; picking up people who are being discharged from a hospital or clinic with no place to go and taking them to a safe place where they can get help; and responding to a call from a landlord worried about the welfare of a tenant.They are trained to address issues such as mental illness or substance abuse and skilled in coaxing people to agree to get the help they need.Many of their calls involve driving people who are suffering from mental illness or substance abuse to an emergencyroom or, if their problem doesn’t merit medical care, to a safe place to spend the night.Despite more than tripling the size of CAHOOTS in the past few years, the need for its services continues to grow faster than CAHOOTS’­ resources.“I’m frustrated because we can’t be everywhere at once,” Gicker says. “There’s always things we’d like to be involved in, sometimes we don’t have the resources we need, or access to information. I feel like we’re often only scratching the surface.”CAHOOTS is a uniquely local response to local needs — people familiar with the program say they don’t know of anything quite like it elsewhere.Its growth in recent years has shown the need for its service; the response within the community, its ability to meet them given the resources.It’s time to start thinking about expanding a program that has been successful and that serves a need that continues to grow.Ideally, adding another van would be a step toward meeting this growing need, as well as allowing expansion of service to areas such as Santa Clara and Goshen that have few resources. It also would allow CAHOOTS staff to respond more quickly to calls seeking help, reach more people who are in need of help, and spend more time working to connect people with the resources they need.It’s hard to put a dollar value on what CAHOOTS does — how do you determine, for example, how many people didn’t die on the streets because of CAHOOTS? How many people who were able to get help that allowed them to stabilize their lives, or medical care that relieved suffering? How do you quantify exactly how much taxpayer money was saved by using CAHOOTS instead of police or firefighters, or the value to businesses of knowing they can call CAHOOTS for help?But the role the CAHOOTS teams play in Lane County is a critical one, and likely to become even more critical in the coming years.This editorial is part of a Register-Guard series focusing on productive responses to homelessness reposted with permission from http://registerguard.com/rg/opinion/36272835-78/helping-people-in-crisis.html.cspSearchContact UsAdministrative Offices341 E 12th AveEugene, OR 97401(541) [email protected]/7 Crisis Line: 541-687-4000Recent UpdatesOctober Free Vaccine ClinicsOct 15th, 2020Fundraising for White Bird!Oct 6th, 2020New program matches homeowners who have space to share with displaced rentersOct 2nd, 2020Voting When Houseless or Concerned for Personal SafetyOct 1st, 20204 Things to Do Before You DieSep 30th, 2020What is CAHOOTS?Sep 29th, 2020Special Open Enrollment for Health InsuranceSep 25th, 2020CSS’s Neighborhood Hygiene StationSep 23rd, 2020Hearts for Hospice logoWhite Bird End of Life CounselingSep 13th, 2020Crisis Lines for SupportSep 11th, 2020COVID-19Updates from Lane CountyGO TO LANE COUNTY UPDATE PAGEMedical is Accepting New PatientsWe take OHP!Notice of Privacy PracticesEnglishSpanishWeb Site PolicySelect LanguagePowered by Google TranslateTranslateFollow UsFacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedInYouTubeRSS - PostsRSS - CommentsLooking for CAHOOTS?To access CAHOOTS services for mobile crisis intervention, call police non-emergency numbers 541-726-3714 (Springfield) and 541-682-5111 (Eugene).To access our 24/7 Crisis Services Line, call 541-687-4000 or toll-free 1-800-422-7558.© COPYRIGHT WHITE BIRD CLINICWHITE BIRD CLINIC ABOUT CONTACT DONATE GET HELP JOBS SERVICES:)