Freedom, Inc. (FI), based in Madison, WI, is a Black and Southeast Asian non-profit serving low- to no-income communities of color. Their mission is to achieve social justice by providing direct services, leadership development, and community organizing to end violence against women, gender-non-conforming and transgender individuals, and children in these communities.
FI continues to confront the systems that directly impact the communities they support, with the biggest challenge being the threat of police violence and intentional targeting of communities of color, especially Black community members. Militarization and criminalization are crucial in advancing and protecting economic neoliberal-capitalist interests. There has been a systemic increase in militarization nationwide, with at least 47 “Cop Cities” being built in metropolitan cities. In December 2023, Fitchburg, Wisconsin’s Police department proposed building a $50 Million police training facility, which would disproportionately impact communities of color. No Cop City Fitchburg prompted their team to launch a new umbrella campaign called the ‘Invest/Divest’ campaign which aims to divest funds from local policing and militarization and invest in a “Healthy Community Initiative.”
FI’s “Healthy Community Initiative” aims to provide the most vulnerable and impacted members of communities with basic human rights such as safe and secure housing, nutritious food, mental health services, healthcare, culturally responsive education, political literacy, and more. To achieve their goals, FI will continue to use their multi-approach organizing model, coupling radical direct services with leadership development, political education, organizing, and community mobilization. First, they will address the basic needs of their most impacted community members by connecting them with a culturally specific advocate who supports them with attaining services such as: victim/survivor advocacy, safety planning and crisis intervention, housing & shelter assistance, access to medical & mental health care, applying for public benefits, immigration and citizenship attainment, access to legal counsel and other survival and life-sustaining services.
After folks are supported with services and are in a stable position, they join cultural, identity, and age-specific program groups where they receive leadership development, political education, and community-building opportunities. As they are being developed, they will be provided with opportunities to get civically engaged and advance community control measures through our ‘Invest/Divest’ campaign, local electoral and budgetary processes, and community events. Freedom Inc. believes that their communities will achieve these goals by increasing community control measures where the most impacted voices are prioritized and included.
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