By understanding that harms affect both individuals and the neighborhood as a whole, the next question was “What can we do about it?” After hearing the review of the efforts by police and other parts of the criminal system at the Board of Supervisor hearing, there was much interest in what other options there were. It was clear to members of the Council that police efforts were at best only maintaining the status quo and at worse reinforcing or making worse the experiences of racism, being a containment zone, and poverty (e.g., street homelessness). The Council then spent a few months looking at these other ways of addressing drug dealing and drug use.

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Following Discussions in Council meetings focused on three main topics:

A) Trauma informed systems focuses on the impact of trauma on an individual. It explains for example the hyper-vigilance, flashbacks, and unpredictable behavior of people who have experienced extreme or repeated traumatic events. Programs and policy built on trauma informed systems address underlying trauma by providing stable relationships, safety, and compassionate responses. For example, when faced with someone who is resisting services, a trauma informed approach asks, “What happened to you?” rather than “What is wrong with you?”

B) Harm Reduction begins with the premise that in the face of disruptive or dysfunctional behaviors it is often impossible to coerce a correction. In the place of coercion there are strategies for mitigating harm while moving to more healthy behaviors. In the case of the drug market, rather than trying to eliminate it in the short term using only treatment, arrest, and incarceration, there are strategies that impact the behavior of both users and dealers that can reduce overdoses, violence, and chaotic behavior.

C) Restorative Justice provides what the criminal system cannot: Addressing the harms done to the community and individuals. The criminal system is focused on punishing the offender but it has little facility for addressing the needs of the victim, the community, and offender as a way of preventing future harmful acts.

D) Anti-violence programing focuses on community strategies rather than law enforcement alone. There are a number of strategies that include street outreach, direct intervention with individuals most likely to commit violent acts, and hospital based interventions. None function without law enforcement collaboration, but they are effective because they mobilize larger pools of resources including those outside of city or state agencies—families, neighborhood groups, healthcare providers, etc.