Sacramento, CA: On Monday, September 29, social and racial justice partners across the state celebrated the passage of AB 1932 (Elhawary), a bill that renews and strengthens the CRISES Act.
Initially passed in 2021, the CRISES Act ensures that grant funding is issued to community-based organizations to fund emergency response pilot programs unrelated to fire or medical emergencies that allow trained individuals to act as first responders to area crisis situations. AB 1932 reauthorizes the program through 2032 and establishes community-based organizations as the grantees, with grants of at least $250,000, subject to available funding. The bill also provides for a stakeholder workgroup to help shape grant criteria. Together, these changes strengthen the foundation for community-based alternatives to law enforcement in crises that do not require a fire department or emergency medical response.
“Passing this bill is a powerful victory—and a testament to the communities, advocates, and organizations that have fought for crisis responses rooted in care, connection, and community leadership,” said Tien Nguyen, Senior Program Director of Family Bridges. “This passage is a testament to the continued belief and renewal in our work that we are capable of creating a world that is free of police and prisons and instead centers healing, transformation, and resources.”
Co-sponsors for this bill include the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color (ABMoC); All of Us or None; Anti Police-Terror Project; Black Arts Movement Business District CDC (BAMBCDC); Black Lives Matter – California; Black Solutions Lab; Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ); Justice Teams Network; Legal Services for Prisoners with Children; Reimagine Richmond; and Youth Justice Coalition.
“This signing is an important milestone,” adds Addie Kitchen, grandmother of Steven Taylor, who was killed during a mental health crisis by the San Leandro Police Department. “This bill and win is in honor of the families impacted by state-sanctioned violence—we honor the lives of our loved ones, our grief, and fight for a better world. It is in part through our loss and fight that we are here now.”
This work recognizes that public health crises, homelessness, mental health needs, intimate partner and community violence, substance use, and natural disasters call for responses grounded in the needs and strengths of the people most affected. Community-based organizations are essential to building those responses. Next steps for this bill are to ensure the program is funded and implemented in partnership with community-based organizations and the people most impacted.
Each partner and its allies look forward to continued support as they fight for funding during the next legislative session.