WASHINGTON, D.C. – MomsRising Together today joined U.S. Representatives Summer Lee (PA-12), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) and more than 100 civil rights, public health, racial justice, housing, violence prevention, and economic justice groups to launch a Community Safety Agenda. This evidence-informed approach to public safety prioritizes care, connection, and prevention over punishment, control, and isolation. 

At the Capitol Hill press conference, members of Congress discussed the legislation they are introducing as part of the Agenda that would invest in the wellbeing and safety of communities by addressing root causes of violence. Rep. Lee reintroduced the People’s Response Act, which emphasizes an inclusive, holistic, and health-centered approach to public safety by creating a Division of Public Safety at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to fund, conduct, and coordinate research, technical assistance, and grant programs related to non-carceral, health-centered investments in public safety. The Break the Cycle of Violence Act, The Mental Health Justice Act, and The Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act are also part of the Community Safety Agenda.

“When we talk about community safety, we have to talk about the discriminatory policies that have created these cycles of harm and the money in our political system that comes at the cost of our people,” said Rep. Lee. “Today’s launch of the Community Safety Agenda is a recommitment to addressing the root causes of the poverty, desperation, and violence our communities face, and prioritizing policies that invest in people—not police and prisons—to keep them safe. Bills like the People’s Response Act are vital to public safety, and I am proud to reintroduce it following former Rep. Cori Bush’s introduction last Congress. I am grateful to my colleagues for their advocacy and the broad coalition of dedicated organizers working to help our communities heal and thrive.”

“Parents and caregivers have long called for safety solutions that protect and uplift, not harm,” said MomsRising National Director Beatriz Beckford. “Real safety doesn’t come from more punishment; it comes from more care. From credible messengers and mobile crisis teams to violence prevention and mental health support, these strategies are saving lives and restoring trust. The Community Safety Agenda offers a roadmap to scale what works and move us beyond a one-size-fits-all, police-first model. It’s time to invest in solutions rooted in healing, equity, and hope, and I’m proud to stand behind this transformative vision for a safer future for us all.”

“MomsRising will mobilize our 1.2 million members to urge lawmakers to pass legislation that advances the Community Safety Agenda this year,” said Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and CEO of MomsRising. “Studies have long shown that the safest places in our country don’t have more police, more jails, more prisons, or longer, harsher sentences, just as we know that simply adding more and more police doesn't make our schools safer. The Community Safety Agenda is an innovative new approach that directs resources to housing, mental health care, schools, and domestic violence prevention. It’s a way forward that strengthens families and communities and offers hope for the future.”

“Although we have a long way to go, our recent progress on public safety has been remarkable — and it hasn’t come accidentally. It’s the result of evidence-based safety strategies that center prevention, public health, and community response. Now is the time when we need more of these strategies, not fewer, and when we need a paradigm shift to scale these approaches nationwide. That’s exactly what this Community Safety Agenda would do, and it’s why I couldn’t be more delighted to see this agenda launched today,” said Thea Sebastian, Executive Director, Futures Institute.

“We can’t keep throwing more punishment at problems that demand care, investment, and structural change. The People’s Response Act, The Break the Cycle of Violence Act, and The Mental Health Justice Act are how we begin shifting resources toward what actually keeps communities safe: healing, opportunity, and accountability that works. I’m proud to support the Community Safety Working Group’s agenda because it reflects the future we deserve, and the urgency this moment demands,” said Nick Matuszewski, Associate Executive Director at WAVE Educational Fund.

Liz Komar, Sentencing Reform Counsel at The Sentencing Project, Kevin Beckford, PhD, Senior Associate at the Pretrial Justice Institute, and Michael Huggins, Deputy Senior Director at Color of Change also spoke at the news conference.

In addition to MomsRising Together, the following group support the Community Safety Agenda: Long Beach Gray Panthers, Blue Future, BLKHLTH, A Bella LaFemme Society, Reframe Health and Justice, Long Beach Environment Alliance, Long Beach Gray Panthers, Elders Climate Action (ECA), Long Beach 350, Long Beach Transit Paratr, American Friends Service Committee, Justice Policy Institute, National Center for Law and Economic Justice, Public Justice Center, States United to Prevent Gun Violence, Prevention Institute, Equal Justice USA, Prison Policy Initiative, InnovateEDU, We Are Revolutionary, Reale Justice Network, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, WAVE Educational Fund, Rebuild, Overcome, and Rise (ROAR) Center at the University of MD, Baltimore, Drug Policy Alliance, Stop Criminalization Of Our Patients (SCOOP), Center for Constitutional Rights, Frey Evaluation, LLC, National Youth Justice Network, Black Lives Matter Global Network, Fair and Just Prosecution, T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, the Forum for Youth Investment, University of Baltimore School of Law Center for Criminal Justice Reform, Center for Policing Equity, National Urban League, National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice, Nonviolent Peaceforce, Human Rights Watch, Sheriff Accountability Action, EJUSA Evangelical Network, YWCA Jamestown, United Church of Christ, Juvenile Law Center, Children's HealthWatch, The Samaritan Foundation, Inc dba ConnectionHealth, The Pennsylvania Community Health Worker Collaborative, Compostela Community Family Cultural Institute, Policing Alternatives & Diversion Initiative, Movement for Black Lives, The Sentencing Project, Advancement Project, The Futures Institute, Partners In Health, Guns Down America, March For Our Lives, San Diego for Every Child, Black Leadership Action Coalition of Kentucky Action Fund (BLACK AF), Voters of Tomorrow Columbus, The First 72+, The Bail Project, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Center for American Progress, Southern Poverty Law Center, Color Of Change, Muslims for Just Futures, Local Progress, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Committee for Children, National Homelessness Law Center, Southern Center for Human Rights, National Council of Churches, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, ACLU, Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces, Civil Rights Corps, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, Inc, Saratoga Black Lives Matter, United Women of Color, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, Children's Defense Fund, People's Advocacy Institute, Florida Rising, One Aim Illinois, Missouri Justice Coalition, Protect Minnesota, Faith For Justice, Freedom Arts & Education Center, G-PAC Illinois, The Festival Center, Freedom Community Center, Pretrial Justice Institute, Thomas Dunn Learning Center, Empower Missouri, Youth First Justice Collaborative, Coalition on Human Needs, RISE for Youth, and Community Justice.