In 2023 and 2025, CICS, the NYU Policing Project, and AMSA brought together leaders from across the country for the Alternative Response Convening—a dynamic gathering of practitioners, policymakers, advocates, researchers, and people with lived experience who are shaping the future of crisis response.

The convening is a space for collective learning, innovation, and strategy. Participants share real-world challenges and successes, explore emerging models, and build relationships that strengthen the national movement toward care-based responses. From city teams launching new programs to grassroots leaders holding systems accountable, the convening centers voices driving change on the ground.

Through panels, workshops, and storytelling sessions, we focus on what’s working, what’s needed, and how to build and sustain alternatives that truly keep people safe—without relying on law enforcement as the first or only response.
Together, we’re creating a shared vision for a more just, responsive, and community-rooted approach to crisis.