Hannah Sorila is a writer and community organizer who aims to align intention and impact in community safety and public policy.
BRATTLEBORO-Have you ever had a rough mental health day where staying calm around other people wasn't possible? Maybe you were really reactive and raised your voice more than you would have liked to. Or maybe you coped with a drink after a long day to try to unwind.
Or, possibly, you had an emotional breakdown and really just needed some privacy to let yourself feel scared or angry or hurt. The world can be a hard place to navigate for us all.
It is even harder to navigate when you do not have the luxury of a private place to cry, to break down, to have a bad day, to cope with the world.
And, when you don't have a place to take a private shower, to use a clean bathroom, to sleep in your own bed, to prepare your own meal, to feel welcome.
To feel human.
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There is a lot of dehumanizing rhetoric about our downtown community who - like you and me - have good days and bad days and are trying to survive this world.
These people do not have a stable roof over their head because of our housing crisis and the extreme cost of living. They struggle through the circuitous challenges of finding a job when unhoused, and their needs are not being met by our town and our community - whether it is because of a lack of access to nutritious foods, affordable housing, physical and mental health care, drug rehabilitation services, and other basic human needs.
Many folks want to "ban" certain behaviors from happening downtown so people can "feel safer."
They are asking for more police presence downtown - however, research shows that police do not prevent crime and that the impact of the "police force size on crime is negative, small, and not statistically significant" and that "police departments don't solve serious or violent crimes with any regularity, and in fact, spend very little time on crime control, in contrast to popular narratives."
Locking people up for "undesirable behavior" is not the safe solution anyone hopes that it could be. It has actually never been a successful model for accountability and reformation - just look at the history of incarceration in the state of Vermont.
Imprisoning people for not having access to the resources they need only makes their lives harder and further traumatizes already-traumatized human beings.
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I understand that people feel scared, that people feel unsafe, that people want to make Brattleboro a safer community - I, too, want a safe community. I have worked downtown for more than two years and frequently interact with our unhoused community members, and they need safety, too. They deserve our compassion, empathy, and support.
As such, I would like to offer a solution that would work toward making downtown safer for our entire community.
If you don't want to see those "undesirable behaviors," we have to give the people exhibiting them a place to go.
Research shows that "overdose prevention centers (OPCs) are facilities designed to reduce the potential risks of drug use, including overdose and unwanted public use. OPCs help bring public drug use indoors [...]. Trained staff provide sterile supplies and intervene if an overdose occurs. OPCs connect people with addiction services and social supports, including voluntary treatment."
OPCs save lives. OPCs improve public safety. OPCs reduce discarded syringes and needles in public places. And OPCs offer a pathway for continued support through professional services for our community members.
Instead of creating zones where behavior is prohibited, let's create more spaces where people can be supported and have access to the resources they need.
We have been conditioned to believe that accountability and punishment are synonymous; however, there are a lot of possibilities for safety that center on meeting people's needs and improving community safety for even our most marginalized community members.
This Voices Viewpoint was submitted to The Commons.
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