Our Story
In the spring of 2020, a wave of uprisings sprang forth across the United States in response to the brutal police and white supremacist murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery, among countless others. These uprisings helped further the national conversation about police abolition, as well as the movement for alternative public safety programs, and we see the 2020 uprisings as the most recent chapter in a long history of Black liberation struggles. We want to honor the centuries of struggle that brought us here, as well as our ancestors’ visions of a world where Black people and all people can be free.
The movement called for a reimagining of public safety and a recognition that our current carceral, punishment-based systems, such as police, child services, psychiatric wards, prisons, and detention centers, do not work. In our local context, the Cambridge City Council answered this call by deciding to allocate money to the development of an alternative public safety program in Cambridge.
HEART was birthed through a transparent, inclusive process convened by The Black Response—an advocacy organization led by Black women—to demand solutions to the inequities and injustices perpetrated by the existing public safety system during January to June 2021.
This process involved conducting year-long community-based participatory action research (an empowering and transformative research methodology) with community members, including young people and those most directly impacted by the existing carceral system. The Black Response also gathered a broad coalition of community activists, local service providers, and city officials to learn from alternative programs already operating around the nation, including MH First in California, CAHOOTS in Eugene, OR, and Project LETS in Denver, CO.
Since then, we're excited to have hired trained peer responders who have completed dozens of hours of training around de-escalation, supporting survivors of domestic violence, and familiarity with local systems and resources. Currently, we proudly offer support through our HEART Line, which is available on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 AM to 4 PM. Through the HEART Line, we provide peer-to-peer emotional support and help connect individuals to valuable resources. Looking ahead, we hope to expand our services by launching a mobile crisis response team, which will allow us to offer immediate support during times of crisis.
At Cambridge HEART, we envision interconnected local communities that practice care, healing, transformative accountability, self-determination, and that are free of carceral systems. We understand that achieving our goals is a journey, as transformative change often unfolds gradually. However, we remain dedicated to collaborating with our community to foster a Cambridge where conflicts and crises are approached with compassion, care, and understanding.
Graphic designed by Sara Yukimoto Saltman
Support Our Work
Interested in getting involved or supporting Cambridge HEART’s work?
Contact us at info@cambridge-heart.org or consider donating.