The Lynn Racial Justice Coalition (LRJC), a group of seven Lynn nonprofits representing thousands of Lynners, is disappointed by Lynn Mayor Jared C. Nicholson’s apparent walking back of his commitment to create the All Lynn Emergency Response Team (ALERT).
For the past two years, the LRJC has met with city officials and community leaders to develop an actionable community care and safety program.
We reached a significant milestone with former Mayor Thomas M. McGee’s commitment of $500,000 for the implementation of ALERT. This budget proposal was unanimously accepted by the city council and celebrated by community members, including now-Mayor Nicholson, whose election campaign included promises of implementing an independent and unarmed crisis response program to address structural racism, and fill a real gap in Lynn’s emergency service infrastructure.
During the five months of Mayor Nicholson’s administration, we have seen a consistent walking back from the position the mayor took during his election campaign.
The Fiscal Year 2023 budget passed on June 14 is a clear indicator of the mayor’s desire to distance himself from his initial support for ALERT.
Instead of maintaining the minimum funding level of $500,000 as established by Mayor McGee, this budget cuts funding for the implementation of ALERT by half to only $250,000 distributed over two years.
The LRJC sees this slashing of the budget as indicative of the mayor’s lack of commitment and prioritization of this crucial program.
Our vision for this program was shaped by our members and our leaders, and by our communities’ experiences with law enforcement. We want the whole city to know exactly what we are talking about when we talk about ALERT:
In light of historic and continuing systemic racism, police brutality, mass incarceration, and over-policing of Black and brown people throughout the nation, including in Lynn, the Lynn Racial Justice Coalition issues the following “People’s Vision” for a care-oriented and community-led alternative to police: ALERT – All Lynn Emergency Response Team.
The goal of ALERT is to provide care and public safety to the Lynn community by responding to non-violent calls for emergency assistance without weapons or use of force.
ALERT will:
- Be designed by a team led by community members that have been most affected and harmed by police. This includes people of color, those with disabilities and behavioral health challenges including autism spectrum disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, substance use disorders, and other forms of mental illness.
- Be housed in an agency independent of existing public safety departments (ie. police and fire).
- Respond to calls without police accompaniment.
- Be staffed by unarmed responders trained to provide culturally competent de-escalation, conflict resolution, harm reduction, substance abuse and mental health support and care.
- Have a team that is diverse by sex, gender, race, language, ethnicity and sexual orientation that is representative of the Lynn community.
- Coordinate with existing governmental and non-governmental agencies to provide care and support during the emergency and follow-up care afterward.
- Coordinate with police if and when the team deems it necessary.
- Be accountable to a Community Accountability Board that provides guidance, oversight and transparency to the public.
ALERT should respond to the following calls that include, but are not limited to:
- Noise complaints
- Mental Health Crises (ie. person in crisis, suicide)
- Homelessness/Housing Insecure
- Suspicious Person
- Drug Overdoses
- Truancy
- Loitering
LRJC is Diverse People United, Anthony Coleman and Neil Whittredge; Essex County Community Organization, Rev. Bernadette Hickman-Maynard, LRJC Co-Chair, Darrell Murkison and Brenda Womack; IUE-CWA Local 201, Eugene Anderson; Lynn United For Change, Helina Fontes, Goldean Graham, and Isaac Simon Hodes; New Lynn Coalition, Jeff Crosby and Jonathon Feinberg; North Shore Juneteenth Association, Nicole McClain, and Prevent the Cycle, Adriana Paz, LRJC Co-Chair.
