CAT 911 Coalition

Community Alternatives to 911 Long Beach, Community Alternatives to 911 Riverside, Community Alternatives to 911 South Central, 2nd Call,

Community Safety

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

The project is addressing (2) Community Safety (LIVE) and (6) Support for Foster and Systems-Impacted Youth (CREATE) so that community members can LIVE & Communities can CREATE what they need to LIVE WELL, without violence and with dignity. When a 16 year old (we will use the name LL) was holding a gun on a social media post, this project assisted him in a way towards his wellness and community safety. The Peacebuilder started to work with LL for his own (checking in regularly to make sure LL was making healthy decisions for himself). Simultaneously CIW worked with the adults to find LL an appropriate school. Based on the community that greeted him, welcomed him and oriented him, he was excited to start school. It’s about 8 weeks in and he is doing well. He is working on his wellness, in community, is no harm to the community and surrounded by the village that will keep him on track.

Due to our advocacy work for the last 20 years, we have been pushing towards Care First, and Youth Development Department in Los Angeles County. YJC and our allies celebrate the establishment of the department and continue to monitor its implementation and the removal of all youth out of probation and into care based community infrastructure. A gift from the LA2050 would help to launch Chuco’s Justice Center, now located at 7625 South Central Los Angeles, CA 90001 into the community center able to meet the needs of this community. Community Alternatives to 911 like YJC’s FREE LA program is a pipeline to a multitude of resources for over 4,000 people directly in the 3 years. With creation of an autonomous network of CAT 911 hubs YJC members and CAT 911 organizers have been able to raise chapters in Long Beach, San Gabriel Valley, San Fernando Valley, Riverside, South Central, and Inglewood. These groups would continue to provide leadership training and soft skills as well as emergency medical training, substance abuse intervention, how to recognize fentanyl overdose and narcan delivery. The social media generated by this collective has well over 40,000 viewers. The political education and skills building across L.A. County and surrounding areas that started in 2019 will be able to proliferate through 2024. A donation from LA2050 to the Youth Justice Coalition will allow for the planning and execution of LA county based college campus affinity group support.

Co-Equal Partnership | Distributing mini-grants to our current Coalition partners including Second Call, Immigrant Youth Coalition, Mustard Seed Foundation, and F.R.E.E. LA High School. We also plan to develop existing relationships with other organizations through the CAT 911 Coalition in Los Angeles County with a governing committee formed by those surviving street violence and incarceration. Starving the Carceral Beast | Advancing policy changes at the state, county, and city through the LA 4 Youth Campaign which takes money from policing budgets for youth jobs, peace-builders, and community centers. Self-Sufficient Together | Using the next 24 months to hold trainings, build a resource library and forming a CAT 911 Coalition to nurture and develop transformative justice practices in Los Angeles and with statewide partners.

Recorded testimony, membership count, participation sheets, reported success, dollars shifted away from suppression and law enforcement, policy adoption.