Free the People Roc Marches to Promote ‘Daniel’s Law’

Story #1 Free the People Roc Marches to Promote ‘Daniel’s Law’

Over the weekend, Black Lives Matter group Free the People Roc, held a march and rally to bring attention to mental health needs in our communities. Dozens gathered in downtown Rochester calling on all lawmakers to pass Daniel’s Law, a bill to further expand the creation of mental health response units. The naming of the bill was inspired after Daniel Prude’s death. The bill was first introduced in February 2021 and created to allow mental health specialists to respond to those crises instead of police officers. The two assemblymembers that are sponsoring the bill, Harry Bronson and Samra Brouk, had attended the rally. They hope to include the bill as part of the current legislative session.

Halima Aweis, an organizer with Free The People Roc, stated; “We all have our own experiences and we know this community has experiences with mental health. Daniel Prude died while having a mental health crisis. It’s so important while we fight for this legislative change and looking to pass this law, we take a moment to reflect and focus on our community’s mental health. It’s important we promote black mental health absolutely matters and should be at the forefront of the conversation.”

Source: 13 WHAM