Dear community, 

As the end of 2023 is near, we would like to share our annual report and important announcement regarding the project. This year, we received the Technical Assistance grant from the Crossroads Fund to support the technological needs for publishing and maintaining the digital content. For example, our ISSUU account holds various zines and toolkits that were created in collaboration with local and national communities between 2018 and 2023. In 2023, we published “Working Draft: Alternatives to Calling the Police During Mental Health Crises,” which culminated and celebrated our 7-year learnings. The resource is accessible on the ISSUU along with the plain text version. 

With this publication, the project may be indefinitely closed. The project ACP was started at La Catrina cafe in Pilsen neighborhood back in 2017 and organized by a group of artists, self-advocates, organizers, and mental health practitioners who were directly or indirectly affected by state violence and incarceration. The very first workshop was to center the stories and needs of the impacted community members as well as raise the awareness and brainstorm alternatives. This small community event was later transformed and evolved into a grass root multimedia project to continue conversations, deepen the understanding, and further complicate the narratives. Over the years, we hosted abolitionist crisis peer support workshops across the city of Chicago with more than 30 different groups and organizations that were offered to 800+ community members. And the list continues. Without the communities, all these would not have been possible, and we express our deepest gratitude toward everyone who came through and contributed in varied ways and levels. We would like to also thank the Open Community Foundation community and staff members who warmly welcomed and supported our project. 

While we may say goodbye for now, it may not be forever or the end. We believe all the precious lessons from the process may guide and lead us to new directions, connections, and possibilities. Until we meet again, may your journeys be with much care, wisdom, justice, and abundance.

Sincerely,

Project ACP