Civic Engagement Toolkit

Behavioral and mental health issues are especially prevalent in marginalized communities, often compounded by poverty, racialized trauma, and a lack of access to quality care. Unfortunately, in many cities and counties, the primary response to a behavioral health crisis is still law enforcement. This leads to unnecessary arrests, escalated harm, and in far too many cases, fatal encounters.

Alternative crisis response models provide a proven path forward. These approaches rely on trained mental health professionals and peer responders instead of police, prioritize de-escalation and care, and connect people to long-term support systems rather than jails.

Organizations like Knoxville Heart, Vera Institute, and research from Stanford highlight the benefits of alternative responses to behavioral health crises. 

But even the best crisis response programs can’t operate in a vacuum. We must also address the upstream causes of community instability and violence, including lack of access to housing, food, education, and healthcare. Generational poverty and systemic disinvestment are themselves forms of violence—and our advocacy must reflect that.

Research highlights: Recent studies and reports support what practitioners have long observed: violence and behavioral crises are deeply connected to structural inequities and community-based, trauma-informed solutions are more effective than punitive responses.

• Structural Racism and Mass Shootings – A public health perspective (NIH)
  
• The Healing Power of Play – Why play matters for trauma survivors
  
• A Trauma-Informed Approach to Violence Prevention (NIH)
  
• What Really Lowers Crime – Nevada Sentencing Commission Report
  
• Social Conditions and Firearm Violence (NIH)

Take action today by reaching out to your representative and promoting increased mental health resources, harm prevention practices, and reduced police engagement in crises. 

The People’s Response Act:

The People’s Response Act was introduced in 2023 to provide federal support for community-based safety strategies but it did not move forward in Congress. The bill was reintroduced in July of 2025. Its current status is active but is still in committee with no floor action.

Check out the reintroduced 2025 bill here: H.R.4387 – The People’s Response Act

With or even without a current bill number, your voice helps lay the groundwork for future legislation or federal funding priorities.

Click here to tell your legislator about how the following policies affect your community.

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any high-income country and significant disparities in outcomes. The overall rate has declined since a pandemic-era peak in 2021, falling to 17.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024, but the racial gap has not closed: Black women continue to die at roughly three times the rate of white women (44.8 vs. 14.2 per 100,000 in 2024).

Black maternal mortality and morbidity remain urgent—and preventable—health crises. Black women die at 2–3× the rate of white women in the U.S., with many deaths linked to systemic barriers like lack of access to prenatal care, racial bias in healthcare settings, and social determinants of health like housing and nutrition.

The Momnibus Act (formerly the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act) addresses this crisis through historic investments that comprehensively address every driver of maternal mortality, morbidity, and disparities in the United States.

Reintroduced on March 18, 2026, the current package expands to 14 individual bills (up from 13 in prior sessions). It has not yet been enacted, but it builds on strong prior advocacy, including mid‑2025 efforts from organizations such as National Council of Jewish Women and March of Dimes—and Congress’s designation of mid‑April as Black Maternal Health Week (H.Res. 332).

Tell your legislator about how the following policies affect your community:

• House package: Momnibus Act (H.R. 7973)
• Senate companion bills: individual provisions of the Momnibus package, a live, current list is maintained on the Black Maternal Health Caucus’s Momnibus page, which links out to each bill’s status; a few confirmed as of this writing

The Clean Slate Initiative is a bipartisan effort that passes and implements laws that automatically clear eligible records for people who have completed their sentence and remained crime-free, and expands who is eligible for clearance. 1 in 3 adults has a criminal record; Clean Slate laws reduce barriers to jobs, education, and housing.

State momentum continues to build even as federal action stalls: Clean Slate laws are now live in 14 states plus DC, covering over 18 million eligible people. Missouri became the 14th state in July 2026, and Virginia’s law entered implementation on July 1, 2026, both signs that the Fresh Start Act’s federal automation grants are increasingly needed to help this growing list of states implement their laws effectively.

Check out the federal bills and share with your legislator how the following policies affect your community:

• On April 30, 2025, Representatives Lucy McBath (D‑GA) and Nathaniel Moran (R‑TX) introduced the Clean Slate Act of 2025 (H.R. 3114) in the House. Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D‑DE) and Rand Paul (R‑KY) are leading the Senate version (S.1580).

• Both of the above bills have been referred to the Judiciary Committees. Check through these links if your representatives are on that committee:

House Judiciary Committee

Senate Judiciary Committee

• Simultaneously, Representatives Laurel Lee (R‑FL) and Sydney Kamlager‑Dove (D‑CA) reintroduced the Fresh Start Act (H.R. 3111), which would provide federal grant funding to help states automate clean slate implementation.

Our national immigration laws have created a moral, economic, and political crisis in America. Initiatives to address this crisis have often been reduced to false choices—such as “open borders” versus “mass deportations”—leading to polarization, misinformation, and political stalemate. This deadlock has carried a tragic human cost. As people of faith, we are called to advocate for reforms that respect the God-given dignity of every immigrant and reflect biblical principles of justice, compassion, and hospitality (EIT/World Relief).

Both The Dignity Act of 2025 (H.R. 4393) and American Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 1589) are bipartisan and propose systemic, humane reforms that resonate with constituents across faith, community, and social justice networks.

1. The Dignity Act of 2025

While the Dignity Act has garnered bipartisan support for its attempt to provide long-term solutions, it has also drawn significant criticism from organizations representing directly impacted communities.

Supportive perspectives (e.g., World Relief):

• Praises the bill as a good-faith bipartisan alternative to dehumanizing, family-separating detention and deportation policies.
• Sees it as an important step toward stability for millions of immigrants while balancing security and compassion.
• Emphasizes the potential to break through years of gridlock with a workable compromise.
  Read World Relief’s statement

Critical perspectives (e.g., United We Dream,):

• Argues the bill offers protections for a few in exchange for creating a permanent second-class of immigrant workers without full rights and protections.
• Warns that it increases criminalization, exclusion, and endangerment for many immigrants.
• Calls for more inclusive, permanent solutions without harmful trade-offs.
  Read the opposition letter summary

2. American Dream and Promise Act 2025

Dreamers are critical to the life of countless communities throughout the USA. This act focuses on providing protections and pathways for Dreamers, who are vital members of communities nationwide. It has garnered over 200 co-sponsors and been referred to the House Judiciary and Education and Workforce Committees. It aims to provide a durable, humane immigration framework for Dreamers, TPS (Temporary Protected Status), and DED (Deferred Enforced Departure) recipients.

• In July of 2026, Rep. Garcia filed a discharge petition to release the bill out of committee and force the bill to the House floor. 218 signatures are needed to move forward. You can view the bill here:  American Dream and Promise Act 2025

Other important issues brought to us from Women of Welcome:

The Temporary Protection Status for Haiti officially ended on July 27, 2026. This is exactly the gap H.R. 1589 could help close. Offering a path to convert TPS status to lawful permanent residency. Congress passed H.R. 1689 in the House this spring, which would extend TPS protections for Haitian nationals through January 20, 2029, and a companion bill was later introduced in the Senate, though it has not yet advanced.

• Contact your Senators to work to pass the Haiti TPS Bill (SB 4814).

The current administration will effectively dismantle the program providing legal counsel for unaccompanied children beginning July 31, leaving tens of thousands of minors to navigate immigration court alone and face rapid deportation, legal experts and advocates warned today. Call your elected officials and ask them to:

• Support, introduce, and pass the Children’s Safe Welcome Act 
• Be aware of the legal services contract renewal deadline of July 31st for UACs the need for continued legal representation

The Department of Homeland Security finalized a rule on July 16 ending “duration of status.” Under the new system, F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors will be admitted for a maximum of four years, even if their degree program takes longer, and must formally apply to USCIS for an Extension of Stay if they need more time. The rule also cuts the post-completion grace period in half, from 60 days to 30, and applies a shorter 240-day admission period The change takes effect September 15, and students already in the U.S. will transition automatically, with their stay capped at four years from that date. 

The Department of Homeland Security announced on July 20 that it is rescinding the 2022 Public Charge rule. The change takes effect on September 18, 2026, and will apply to applications filed on or after that date. The update comes on top of separate restrictions already enacted through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is gradually limiting immigrant eligibility for programs including SNAP, Medicaid, CHIP, and Affordable Care Act marketplace subsidies.

• Here is a fact sheet on Immigrants and Public Benefits

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Afghanistan TPS Act on July 22, legislation that would restore Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghan nationals already living in the United States through July 2029. The bill comes more than a year after termination of Afghanistan’s TPS designation in May 2025, leaving thousands of Afghans, including many who supported U.S. troops during the two-decade war, at risk of deportation to a country still under Taliban control.

Act now by identifying your congressional leader and telling your legislator about how the these policies affect your community.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free, confidential, 24/7 support for people in mental health, substance use, or suicidal crises. A 2026 study found 988’s launch was linked to an estimated 4,700 fewer suicide deaths among people ages 15–34, but federal support has been inconsistent.

Recently the Senate passed S.3199 988 Lifeline Location Improvement Act of 2026. Rep. Joe Neguse has also introduced H.R.9814 LIieline Location Improvement Act of 2026 on 7/21/2026. It is currently in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

The death penalty raises significant concerns. It is often racially biased, costly, and ineffective in deterring crime. It also involves severe methods and fails to provide healing for the families of murder victims. Even with improvements, the risk of wrongful execution remains significant, as evidenced by the exoneration of over 200 individuals from death row. Pursuing solutions that foster healing and peace aligns with the values of many Christians and promotes restorative justice over execution.

The bill featured in previous toolkits (H.R.1124 – Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2023-2024) has stalled in committee and has been reintroduced in the current Congress as the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act of 2026 (H.R. 8940 / S. 4608) in May 2026, which would prohibit the death penalty for any federal crime and require re-sentencing of everyone currently on federal death row. CCDA practitioners can continue to take meaningful action—through prayer, partnership, and faithful public witness. The organizations listed below are actively working to uphold human dignity, abolish the death penalty, and promote restoration for those most harmed by mass incarceration and systemic injustice.

Death Penalty Action 

Catholic Mobilizing Network

Interfaith Action for Human Rights

Southern Center for Human Rights

Abolish Slavery National Network

Take action today and tell your legislator about how this policy affects your community.

Gun violence prevention

Experts have recommended a number of policy approaches to reduce gun violence:

Congress can close legal loopholes that allow people to buy guns without background checks from private sellers, websites, or gun shows. A move that over 80% of gun owners support.

Congress can institute universal background checks for both gun and ammo purchasers and require gun licenses, all measures supported by the vast majority of Americans.

• H.R.18 Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2025

Congress can adequately fund community-based interventions such as the nearly 20-year-old Ceasefire program, an underfunded effort that has helped to reduce gun violence in cities through education and public health crisis strategies.

Congress can reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004, or pass new legislation banning the purchase of high capacity magazines and military-style assault weapons.

• S.1531 / H.R. 3115 Assault Weapons Bans

Tell your legislator about how the following policies affect your community:

• 2025 Declaring gun violence a public health crisis H.Res.835

Break the Cycle of Violence Act

Congress has the opportunity to pass legislation that directs vital funds to communities impacted by violence to help them implement evidence-based programs that stop violence, heal trauma, and prevent harm.

2025 Break the Cycle of Violence Act (Senate S. 2203 and House H.R. 4103). Both have been referred to different committees.

The Department of Justice recently made the decision to terminate awards for community-based violence intervention (CVI) programs. Contact your senators and respectfully urge them to contact the Department of Justice and advocate for the immediate reinstatement of this funding.

Follow these links to tell your legislator about how these policies affect your community:

Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund

Unhoused neighbors are in fact our neighbors, and function as an organic community. But their voices are often unheard or dismissed. CCD has the opportunity to elevate their value in communities and push back against legislative efforts that aim to push them out of the neighborhood, institutionalize them and do harm rather than help. 

• Take action today and tell your legislator about how these policies affect your community.
  • H.R. 4872  Ending Homelessness Act would expand vouchers and permanently fund McKinney-Vento grants.
  • S. 1667  Homeless Children and Youth Act strengthens protections for homeless youth and families. 
  • Yes In God’s Backyard federal expansion, reintroduced. S. 2720 / H.R. 7152 would provide technical assistance and grants to help churches build affordable housing on their land 
  • H.R. 4182 Housing Not Handcuffs Act (Rep. Jayapal) would ban criminalizing homelessness on federal land, responding to the 2024 Grants Pass v. Johnson ruling that’s fueled a wave of local anti-camping ordinances.