podcast: Episode 24 - Care-based Safety with Liz Kennedy & Sheri Wander
Care-Based Safety's mission is to build a non-police, community-based crisis response program that prevents, responds to, and transforms crisis in Washtenaw County, Michigan.
The organization operates on a public health approach, providing loving, unarmed support to people directly impacted by structural violence — without police. As of 2025, Care-Based Safety completed a summer-long place-based pilot in Ypsilanti and is piloting a limited public phone line for crisis and conflict support, including calls for service involving people experiencing mental health crises, substance use disorders, neighborhood disturbances, wellness checks and after-violence care. Lessons from the pilot will guide a five-year plan to grow into a 24/7 community-based response system.
The CBS team of highly trained peer workers and dedicated volunteers focuses on enhancing connections through free workshops, mutual aid, and peer support to prevent harm and build trust. They host free, public spaces for people to meet, build relationships, and develop peer support networks. These opportunities center on meeting community needs, de-escalating conflicts, connecting people to resources, advocating for change, and mutual aid.
CBS is a model grounded in peer-led and peer-based support, approaching community problems alongside community members by holding numerous listening sessions in development, liaising with directly impacted members regularly in place-based pop-ups, and pulling directly from community to staff the organization and to sustain funding.
Like many crisis response organizations seeded around the time of the 2020 uprisings against police violence and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Care-Based Safety has struggled against financial roadblocks erected to exclude their services from state funding, attempts to co-opt and dilute the revolutionary aspects of their operation, and the common growing pains associated with building a reliable, responsive structure while also taking the time to train up community members to serve each other. CBS is not only remarkable for the programming they provide but their ability to quickly pivot, iterate, and innovate while still taking the time to solicit widespread community input and buy in.
Similar Projects: Relationships Evolving Possibilities, Cambridge HEART
Source: Case-Based Safety
Updated 1/12/2026