Kaia Sand

Kaia Sand is writing a book on the alternative first-response movement, publishing dispatches from this research at unwantedpersons.substack.com. An organizer with Friends of Portland Street Response, she served as executive director of Street Roots from 2017 to 2024.

Portland Street Response crisis worker Angela Sands and EMT Kaya Ascott respond to a 911 call in Portland, Oregon.

This Organization Proved There Was an Alternative to the Police. Now It’s Being Defunded. This Organization Proved There Was an Alternative to the Police. Now It’s Being Defunded.

In Eugene, Oregon, CAHOOTS, a decades-old crisis-response program, may disappear, but the programs it inspired have spread across the United States, including to nearby Portland.

Jun 24, 2025 / Kaia Sand

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