I don’t want to get too political in shower thoughts, but this would solve a lot of the hot button issues if more people just had safer and supportive environments to escape to and volunteers / paid professionals to help them on the other end.
This is one example of how the current criminal justice system prioritizes capitalism over public safety. People who live paycheck to paycheck don’t have resources to remove themselves from situations where they know they are in danger. Most people are murdered by people they know, not strangers. This is especially true in terms of women’s pay inequality, where this systemic failure makes it harder for women to separate themselves from abusive partners, who often end up killing them. If you want to reduce murders, you need some wealth distribution, not more policing.
That was the whole point of defund the police - shift social/mental health services to people who are trained in those areas and let cops focus on crime rather than domestic disturbances.
It was a shame they went with such a terrible name for this. It just gave the other side way more bs talking points.
Hell the Austin Tx police department (union really) is still butt hurt that they even thought about taking away money from them that they are still refusing to respond to most calls.
Dumbest term ever.
It was always reallocate the funds AND responsibilities to some other agency. Let cops do their cop shit and let homeless and the mentally ill get dealt with by people who care and know how to deal with em.
Just more proof they should be defunded for being utterly useless
This is one of the reasons abusers pressure you to quit your job-- so even if you were finanically stable before, you end up becoming financially dependant on them so you can’t just leave. It also makes it nigh-impossible for kids, even kids of wealthy families, to escape abusive situations before they’re old enough to get a job (and you can bet their parents will run interference to keep that from happening as long as possible, or else figure out a way to coerce them into giving them their paychecks.)
You say we don’t need more policing, but I have a point to interject.
I was completely sober while my wife was decidedly… not. She had just struck me and it would produce a black eye later.
I called the police, aside from the abuse, my wife was experiencing a mental breakdown and was on the verge of suicide. When I say verge, I mean I had hidden or destroyed anything she could hurt herself with, including my own psych meds that I need for my own mental health issues. She still tried, though ineffectual. We needed professional help. We wanted an ambulance. We requested an ambulance from 911. The pigs showed up, of course.
I had a swelling eye, a witness, and a dramatically unstable wife and was almost arrested.
The police do not care about your well being. “Serve and protect” has been stricken down by the Supreme Court. The police serve the 1%, and deal with us plebians as easily as possible… that is to say, they will ruin your life because it is easier than taking care of the actual offender.
We need a support agency for health, especially mental health, crises. A mentally unstable person can cause a lot of damage, either to their own life, or others. That includes death.
End statement. TL;DR; we need a public agency that helps people who are having a mental health crisis and doesn’t treat them as violent extremists.
I don’t think this is just a capitalist problem. I don’t think there’s been an economic system in human history (practiced, not theorized) that helped the have nots to the same degree as the haves.
The city I live in has a “crisis services” unit for mental health crises, drug abuse related crises, welfare checks, psychiatric evaluation for hospitalization, and so on.
I’ve used one of these before. The main problem is that you’re often put on a hold for at least 72 hours.
And while this does help get you out of that immediate crisis, missing 3 days of work and pay can actually put you in a worse position when you get out.
And mental institution stays aren’t always super helpful for long-term mental health. Many of them are as bad, if not worse than being in jail.
Same with my city. During the defund the police talk they made national news as an alternative to armed police response to mental health crisises.
Pretty much everyone in the USA is served by mobile crisis teams. 988 will connect you to one
Is there a 3 digit number you can call?
988 anywhere in the USA
988 is a phenomenal, life-saving service, but unfortunately they don’t help you get in touch with services to get out of dangerous situations.
There is the National Domestic Violence hotline, but they’re A) run by a private organization, and B) literally hang up on you unless you’re experienceing “intimate partner violence”-- because apparently all other forms of domestic violence don’t count!!!
Sure, I’m not talking about OP’s post, but about the crisis services. 988 can get you in touch with local services, but mostly therapy.
That’s interesting about the domestic violence hotline.
I am no longer one of the 86% of Americans who never heard of this
Pretty new. Only existed for like a year now
Biggest problem is that you’d need the services everywhere for a 3-digit number to make sense.
Now if there was a 3-digit number that’d connect you to all the misc government services in your area, that’d be another thing.
In some cities 211 goes pretty far, but I don’t know how responsive they are.
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What’s the scope of help you’re thinking of? Do you need to get out of a home situation for a while? You could drink a 6-12 pack and go to your local AA/NA inpatient rehab. Bring a piece of paper with import phone numbers on it and you can spend 2-4 weeks tucked away where absolutely no one knows where you are except the person(s) you call out to.
I don’t condone abusing services like that. But if you really gotta go, there are options.
I mean like people stuck in abusive situations, cults, etc.
Most countries have that. It’s called the police. Unless you’re talking about shelters and the like?
Police don’t help you get out of your home. The best case scenario is they arrest your abuser, who’ll be back home the next morning (and hopefully won’t retaliate too severely against you for humiliating them). Then, weeks to months later you have a court date-- by which time, your abuser’s likely threatened you into saying whatever it takes to get them off the hook, and the judge is more than happy to play along so they can get you out the door and move onto other, “more important” cases.
And again, that’s the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is your abuser convinces them you were actually the assaulter, and you’re the one going to jail instead! Actually, I lied, that’s the second-to-worst case scenario. Worst case scenario is the police do nothing, and leave you alone to deal with your abuser’s rage at almost getting them caught. Or, you know, they just charge in guns fucking blazing because your skin’s the wrong color.
So how would this alternative service be any different? Abusers can be extremely adaptive and have outright control of their victims. The playbook of national services are very easy to learn and adapt around.
Maybe not quite what OP was imagining, but I was less focused on the extraction itself and more the destination: a network of safe, private residences you could flee to, then stay at until you’ve found a job and are ready to move into normal housing. Even better if they have psychological professionals on hand to help you deal with your trauma-- or hell, even staffers who’ll help you get in touch with psychological professionals and other resources to help you get back on your feet would be a big plus.
As for the “extraction” itself, yeah, just going in guns blazing wouldn’t work. It’d probably have to vary from client to client. Could be something as simple as venmoing you money for an uber. Or maybe you could work together with the staffers on some kind of skullduggery scheme-- like you say you’re going out “grocery shopping”, then there’s a car waiting for you in the grocery store parking lot to take you to the shelters.
Honestly, even just having a friendly voice on the other side of the phone helping you figure out a plan to get out would be a huge help.
A lot of governments do fund DA networks, including shelters. The reason they don’t run them directly is because welfare agencies can’t operate with the level of secrecy needed to effectively run the service. Too much would have to be ‘on the books’.
Sharp disagree there. I understand you need to keep some things, like the exact locations of the shelters, a secret, but right now things are so opaque it’s hard to even figure out how to check for what services might be available to you in your area. Like, literally, I wouldn’t even know where to look (google “DV shelters in <my area>”??? I guess? But then you have to worry about being scammed, and the conditions, and if they take kids / pets / male victims, and, and, and…)
That’s a lot of fucking time and energy to waste trying to figure out where to even ask for help, let alone actually asking it. And if you’re in that situation, you do not have a lot of time and energy at your disposal.
Would be so much easier to just have a hotline you could call that could help you figure out what options are avaliable to you and how to access them.
I’m talking about setting you up with a new life and cutting all ties to toxic dangerous people.
It’s called the police.
The police are a form of state-backed organized crime. They’re far more likely to kill you than anything else. Bit like asking a rabid dog for protection.
Thats……extreme. This does not apply everywhere
Maybe in the US, but, for example in Germany it’s really not like that!
Absolutely. And safe, private apartments the people being evacced can stay at for a few weeks / months while they look for work. Not “shelters” that are usually anything but (assuming you can even ones with space available for you in your area).
That’s like half the country…
Maybe we’ll end up with just 1 half of the country where people are all chill and caring and the other half can be toxic to each other because they thrive off of unhealthy drama. But oh well.
I’m in Texas. Guess which half I’ll get…
As an escapee from the south, I’d gladly donate to help people make it out.
Nobody should have to live there, it’s inhuman.
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Ribbit
I could use this when I’m getting arrested for using illegal substances. They take me to a safe space where I can get high without worrying about incarceration* and inhumane treatment.
Hate to break it to you, but you’ve been incarnated already…
Let’s get carnal baby. I’ll bring the caramel.
Not a great time to have diabetes…
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No, they’re asking to do one thing and using a slogan that sounds completely bat-shit insane.
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In East Grand Rapids, there is a single service for emergency responders who are trained as police / fire fighters, and paramedics so only one vehicle shows up. Consolidating them instead of defunding them actually improved things.
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Woah, slow down Hitler. No. Defund the police is not the same message as Reorganize Emergency Services. :p
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Yeah, you do that Jeff. Go to someone’s private home and fix everything wrong in there before someone gets hurt.
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By the time things have escalated to the point the abuse victim is desperate to escape, they’ve spent years trying to fix things at home. Remember, most victims start off having loved their abuser once. It’s only after you’re met with failure after failure after failure that it finally starts to sink in your abuser doesn’t want to change, because they like having power over you.
The only safe option at that point is to GTFO before things escalate even further.
