CaRe Not cops conference
Care Not Cops Conference, June 26-28th 2026, Sacramento
We are honored to invite you to participate in CARE NOT COPS, a three-day international convening bringing together organizers, healers, artists, impacted families, movement leaders, cultural workers, youth organizers, and practitioners building real alternatives to punishment and policing.
Hosted by the Anti Police-Terror Project and the Justice Teams Network, this gathering will explore what it means to create safety through healing, accountability, collective care, and community power.
Community Wellness Festival — Friday, June 26
Kick off CARE NOT COPS with an evening of music, culture, healing, and community at our Community Wellness Festival in Oak Park, Sacramento. This intergenerational gathering will feature live performances by Sol Development, Spear of the Nation, Jenn Johns, M’ster Lewis, Junior Toots, Reach Back Retain, spoken word by Andru Defey, and uplifting selections from the Peace and Justice Choir.
The festival will also include local vendors, food, art activities, community resources, Healing Justice services, free NADA ear seed acupressure trainings, and blessing bag giveaways supporting unhoused community members. Come celebrate collective care, culture, and the power of community as we open the weekend together.
This event is FREE - ALL AGES & Open to the Public!
Healing Justice & Alternatives Conference — Saturday, June 27 & 28th
June 27th & 28th is the Healing Justice and Alternative Conference held both virtually and in person at Aggie Square - 4480 2nd Ave in Sacramento, CA. Registration is required as space in-person space is limited. Secure your FREE tickets here:
This 2-day convening features keynote speakers and movement leaders, including:
Cat Brooks - co-founder and executive director of Anti-Police Terror Project and Justice Teams, host of Law & Disorder on KPFA, and a long-time performer, organizer, and activist.
Malkia Devich Cyril - @mediajustice co-founder | @radical_loss founder | writer | grief worker | Leftist | movement & narrative strategist | 13th Film
Erica Woodland — facilitator, consultant, psychotherapist and healing justice practitioner with more than 20 years of experience working at the intersections of movements for racial, gender, economic, trans & queer justice. Woodland and Cara Page are editors of the anthology ‘Healing Justice Lineages: Dreaming at the Crossroads of Liberation, Collective Care and Safety’ (North Atlantic Books, 2023).
Across the weekend, participants will engage powerful conversations, strategy spaces, healing activations, and workshops rooted in Healing Justice, abolition, and collective liberation. Panels and sessions include:
Foundations & Community Care
Healing Justice as Resistance: California-Based Models for Organizing & Collective Care
Art as Medicine: Culture, Creativity & Collective Healing
Mental Health Beyond the System: From Pathology to Collective Care
No Peace Without Justice: Healing-Centered Responses to Domestic Violence
Crisis Response, Accountability & Restoration
Life After Harm: Abolition, Reentry & the Work of Coming Home
We Remember, We Rise: Families Healing from State Violence
The Power is Ours—Reclaiming Healing for Trauma & Substance Use
Beyond Borders, Beyond Policing: Global Pathways to Abolition & Healing
Power, Policy & Movement Building
From Extraction to Investment: Budget Justice & Resourcing Our Futures
Young People Lead the Way: Organizing, Healing & Collective Power
We Keep Each Other Safe: Mutual Aid, Abolition & People Power
Safety Without Policing: Reimagining Public Safety & Alternative Community Responses
Featured panelists and participating organizations include members of:
and many more movement partners, healers, organizers, and impacted community leaders.
In addition to panels and strategy sessions, the convening will include:
Healing Justice practice spaces
Community acupuncture & bodywork
Art activations & cultural performance
Herbal medicine & blessing bag stations
And more
This gathering is for those asking:
What becomes possible when we choose care over punishment?
How do we build safety without policing?
What does healing look like in practice, policy, and movement?
For additional information, you may contact the Care Not Cops Organizing Team at carenotcops@antipoliceterrorproject.org
