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Buffalo Commons Workshop: Redefining Safety and Exploring Alternatives to Policing

Presenter(s):	Charis Humphrey, Emma Fabian, Jalonda Hill, Andrea Ó Súilleabháin
Date:	July 29, 2020, 12-1:30 pm
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As the national conversation grows around decreasing funding for police departments, some cities and groups are advocating for community-led safety and exploring alternatives to policing.

In this workshop, we’ll hear from Black Love Resists in the Rust (BLRR) as they discuss their work to create awareness about what “safety” means and to whom, and their tactical methods and community-based solutions outside a typical policing framework. Right here in Buffalo, BLRR has been creating a “community safety zone” through asset-based community building at the neighborhood level and community agreements on safety and police intervention. We’ll explore alternatives to policing already in use in Buffalo and other cities, and ask how these can be expanded as efforts to reduce policing advance across the country.

Speakers include:

Charis Humphrey, Community Organizer at Black Love Resists in the Rust;
Emma Fabian, Senior Director of Harm Reduction at Evergreen Health;
Jalonda Hill, Lead Organizer of the Fair Fines + Fees Coalition and Paralegal at the WNY Law Center;
Andrea Ó Súilleabháin, Executive Director at Partnership for the Public Good