The National Justice Project has received overwhelming support for our Alternative First Responders campaign and the new website with resources, tools and actions that everyone can take to make meaningful change.
Police are currently the be-all first response to calls for help. When people need help they are being met with suspicion and force, when they are experiencing a social or mental health issue there is escalation and judgement instead of compassion. Many of the people who have already pledged their support for this campaign and we appreciate our supporters who have shared with us why this issue is so important:
This is such an important and urgently needed initiative!
I have witnessed too many times when the current default first response model of police and/or ambulance escalates situations and is not appropriate.
We need more care and connection in community.
I support any initiative that puts the focus on the need for trauma-awareness.
Police are not mental health care professionals and it is not ok that force or the threat of force should ever be considered.
Appropriate care is the appropriate first response.
Our campaign makes an urgent plea to re-think the response and reimagine how we respond to people in need.
Make the pledge to join a national movement demanding safety, dignity and care in every first response.
We are proud to note the following organisations to date have endorsed our position paper on Alternative First Responders:
Change the Record, Justice Reform Initiative, Social Reinvestment WA, National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition (NIYEC), Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, SANE Australia, Youth Advocacy Centre QLD, Western Australia Justice Association (WAJA), Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council (VMIAC), Justice Equity Centre (JEC), Redfern Legal Centre, First Nations Advocates Against Family Violence (FNAAFV), Central Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Unit (CAAFLU), South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS), South Australian Network of Drug and Alcohol Services, NPY Women’s Council, StreetWork, The Wayside Chapel, The Shopfront Youth Legal Centre, Sydney Drug Education & Counselling Centre (SDECC) and Federation of Community Legal Centres VIC.
