IN RESPONSE TO THE SUSTAINED AND INCREASINGLY VISIBLE VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK COMMUNITIES IN THE U.S. AND GLOBALLY, A COLLECTIVE OF MORE THAN 50 ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTING THOUSANDS OF BLACK PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY CAME TOGETHER IN 2015 TO ARTICULATE A COMMON VISIONARY PLATFORM CALLED THE VISION FOR BLACK LIVES.

When the people rose up in 2020, that platform became the basis for a visionary bill framework to divest our taxpayer dollars from brutal and discriminatory policing and invest in a new vision of public safety. 

Today, the BREATHE Act serves as the basis for several pieces of legislation that bring us closer to that vision of safety for everyone. As the first piece of federal legislation that is fully inspired by the BREATHE Act framework, the People’s Response Act will advance the non-carceral paradigm for community safety that we are all seeking to build. 

The Drug Policy Reform Act is a necessary drug decriminalization bill also inspired by the BREATHE Act. The Drug Policy Reform Act decriminalizes substance abuse and moves authority over drug classifications at the federal level out of the hands of the Attorney General into the hands of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This further solidifies a national shift in our approach to drug policy away from punishment toward healing and community safety.

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Use this step-by-step guide to create your own community safety policy at the state level and local level. These guides offer advocates, state and local policymakers, and organizers, and every day people the tools they need to craft policies that center the public health of the community, center care in crisis response, and advance non-carcel approaches to safety that will truly work to keep our communities safe and free.