CAHOOTS’s most recognized year ever continues. When Black Lives Matter-related protests were at their peak during 2020, national media outlets looked to the White Bird Clinic program as an alternative to policing — ranging from spots on CNN to The Atlantic. But now the program has received the patented comical news treatment by Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on Jan. 25 — and Eugene Weekly makes a little cameo.
Like Daily Show correspondents before him (such as Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Samantha Bee), Roy Wood Jr. blends the show’s trademark straight-faced news personality with comedic timing while interviewing CAHOOTS’ Program Coordinator Ebony Morgan and former Operations Coordinator Tim Black.
Morgan was voted by EW readers for the 2020 Best Of issue as Best Health care worker and CAHOOTS, aka Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets, won best nonprofit and service for the homeless. And during the interview, Morgan had the cover of that issue in the frame of her computer’s camera.
CAHOOTS (aka Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets) has been around for 30 years — or as Wood puts it, “The Fresh Prince hadn’t even left for Bel Air yet.” Wood learns in the segment that CAHOOTS staff don’t carry pepper spray, guns or even ninja stars.
Morgan then ran down a typical call and how CAHOOTS staff responds to people in crisis. She said staff have snacks, tents, clean clothes and more in the van.
“You had me at snacks,” Wood interjected. “I’m a 40-year old man, and I’ll get in the van for some snacks.”
Wood also talked to Morgan and Black about de-escalation tactics — or as he described it, “just being chill.”
Black said he needs to be engaged with the person and demonstrate that he cares about them “to work through this crisis together.”
But Wood said that CAHOOTS has responded a lot to “Karens,” an online term for predominantly white women who often freak out about people of color being in public like grilling or walking.
“We do encounter situations where folks call in because of racist motivations or because they have a bias against different socio-economic circumstances,” Black said. “In those situations, I think there are two things we have to recognize: What it was that triggered that person to make that call?”
“And then two, slap the shit out of that person,” Wood interrupted.
Black laughed, saying that’s not a CAHOOTS strategy and instead they present an opportunity to confront the caller’s white fragility.
Using city of Eugene budget figures, Wood shows how CAHOOTS and their vans filled with snacks, clean clothes and care save money. Comparing the Eugene police budget of $90 million, he says CAHOOTS costs taxpayers $2.1 million — but responds to nearly 20 percent of the calls. Returning to these budget numbers at the end of the segment, Wood posed the question we’ve all asked in Eugene: If this is what they could do with $2 million, imagine what they could do with $90 million?
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
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