Supporting the Emergence of a Community-Based Emergency Response

As a volunteer and board member with Cambridge HEART (Holistic Emergency Alternative Response Team), I played multiple roles in supporting this grassroots nonprofit during its crucial startup phase. Working closely with abolitionist, radical Black Feminist organizers of The Black Response, I contributed to building an alternative community safety program in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from the ground up, while learning from decades of movement wisdom and experience.

My responsibilities centered on resource generation and community engagement. I organized successful fundraising events that brought together community members, advocates, and supporters. I also engaged in local advocacy, including speaking to City Council members to build support for alternative approaches to community safety. On the development side, I successfully secured grant funding and built a dedicated grant-writing team to sustain our work.

We drew inspiration and guidance from similar initiatives across the city, state, and country, connecting with movement leaders who had experience building alternative emergency response systems. Through workshops, retreats, and countless Zoom calls, we learned about successful models in other cities and the challenges they faced. This network of support helped us understand how our local work connected to broader national movements for abolition and community safety.

The project highlighted both the challenges and possibilities in creating alternatives to existing systems. Working within an abolitionist, Black Feminist, framework challenged traditional approaches to public safety, and we faced relentless obstacles. Yet we collectively endeavored to reimagine what genuine community care could look like. Our organization’s development was guided by the wisdom of long-time organizers who emphasized the importance of moving at the speed of trust and building deep relationships within the community. Through this work, I learned valuable approaches to resolving conflict, including circle process and other transformative justice practices.

This experience deepened my understanding of nonprofit management through an anti-oppression lens, while developing practical skills in sustaining grassroots organizations. Most importantly, it taught me the value of humility and patience in movement work, and the importance of learning from those who have been doing this work for generations.

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