Alliance Alert: The Alliance for Rights and Recovery is proud to celebrate a major milestone in the fight for compassionate, community-based responses to mental health crises: the official launch of HOPE First Roc, New York State’s first Daniel’s Law styled program, based in Rochester’s 19th Ward and Genesee-Jefferson neighborhoods.
HOPE First Roc—Healing Outreach and Peer Engagement—is a peer-led, non-police crisis response team built directly from community vision, lived experience, and a commitment to dignity. This initiative is a direct response to the 2020 killing of Daniel Prude, a Black man experiencing a mental health crisis whose death at the hands of Rochester police sparked national outcry and a statewide call for change.
Backed by Free the People Rochester, this pilot embodies years of organizing, advocacy, and community leadership calling for alternatives to police response to crisis calls. The program mobilizes trained peers and community responders—not police officers—to respond to people experiencing a crisis with voluntary, trauma-informed, and health-centered support.
As the press release and recent coverage in Politico highlight, this is more than just a program—it’s a transformational shift in how we respond to distress. Instead of handcuffs, people will receive compassionate support. Instead of punishment, they’ll find peers who understand.
This is what Daniel’s Law was meant to inspire.
We also celebrate the $6 million included in the FY 2026 New York State Budget for Daniel’s Law styled response programs and the establishment of a behavioral health crisis technical assistance center to support community-led models statewide. The HOPE First Roc launch proves that when we invest in community, healing is possible.
“This project honors Prude’s legacy while building new possibilities for safety and healing,” the Daniel’s Law Coalition shared in its announcement.
As Victoria McDonald, daughter of another victim of police violence, movingly stated: “I am thankful for the creation of this program and hope to be able to support its growth, development, and potential expansion across New York State, and potentially, the United States.”
The Alliance will continue to advocate for:
- Expanded funding for peer-led, health-first crisis response teams across the state;
- Statewide passage of Daniel’s Law to codify these models for the entire state;
- Ongoing community involvement and peer leadership in every stage of implementation;
- An end to the criminalization of mental health and substance use crises.
We urge all allies to support HOPE First Roc:
- Share their job postings: hopefirstroc.org/work-with-us
- Invite them to local events and forums
- Reach out to collaborate: admin@hopefirstroc.org
This is what community support looks like. Let’s continue to build toward a future where support and compassion—not criminalization—is the first response.
First Daniel’s Law Pilot to Launch in Rochester
By Katelyn Cordero and Maya Kaufman | Politico | July 30, 2025
The state’s first pilot program dispatching community responders to mental health-related crises is launching in Rochester.
Starting this fall, Hope First Roc will respond on a voluntary basis to emergencies in the 19th Ward and Genesee-Jefferson neighborhoods, the organization announced Tuesday.
The initiative is supported by the Daniel’s Law Coalition and Free the People Rochester, a grassroots activist group organized after the killing of Daniel Prude by Rochester police officers in 2020.
The coalition has spent years fighting for Daniel’s Law, which would advance new crisis response systems statewide that rely on mental health professionals rather than police officers.
Legislators have so far taken several smaller steps in that direction.
The fiscal 2026 state budget allocated $6 million for Daniel’s Law pilot programs and established a technical assistance center to develop standardized protocols and procedures for new crisis response programs.
Those initiatives grew out of a report by the Daniel’s Law Task Force, which state lawmakers established in 2023 to recommend changes to emergency response systems.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
07/29/25
First Daniel’s Law Pilot Program, HOPE First Roc, Launches in Rochester, NY
Rochester, NY— Five years after the killing of Daniel Prude by RPD while he was experiencing a mental health crisis, a new chapter in compassionate crisis response has begun in Rochester.
Created by the Rochester Community Advisory Board of the Daniel’s Law Coalition, HOPE First Roc is a peer-led, non-police crisis response initiative. HOPE, which stands for Healing Outreach and Peer Engagement, provides an alternative to policing rooted in dignity, lived experience, and community trust. This community-led program mobilizes trained peer responders to offer voluntary, trauma-informed support during moments of crisis—without involving police. Starting this Fall, community responders will be providing health-led, peer-led responses to the 19th Ward and Genesee-Jefferson neighborhoods.
HOPE First Roc was created in response to long-standing community calls for alternatives to policing—calls made even more urgent following the killing of Daniel Prude in 2020. This project honors Prude’s legacy while building new possibilities for safety and healing. The initiative is supported by the Daniel’s Law Coalition and Free The People Rochester, and is inspired by decades of successful peer-led crisis models like Crisis Assistance Helping out on the Streets (CAHOOTS) in Eugene, Oregon and Support Team Assisted Responder (STAR) in Denver, Colorado.
“As a daughter of someone who died at the hands of a police officer from the Rochester Police Department, I’d like to express my sincerest appreciation for the creation of the HOPE First Roc peer-led crisis response program, as this initiative may bring forth more attention to victims and family members of those that have perished due to police violence, as well as aiming to provide Community Responders with safe and effective training when responding to calls for individuals in mental health distress.” said Victoria McDonald, “I am thankful for the creation of this program and hope to be able to support its growth, development and potential expansion across New York State, and potentially, the United States.”
We’re Hiring! Join the Team!
HOPE First Roc is building a team of community responders and support staff committed to values of compassion, community leadership, and equity. We are currently hiring for the positions of Director, Community Response Coordinator, and Community Responder. Interested candidates are encouraged to learn more and apply via the website: HOPEFirstRoc.org/work-with-us
How the Community Can Support:
- Share the job postings within your networks
- Invite HOPE First Roc to speak or table at local events
- Volunteer with us to assist with outreach and storytelling efforts
For media inquiries, collaborations, or to discuss getting involved with HOPE First Roc, contact admin@hopefirstroc.org.
Together, we can build a future where care—not punishment—is the first response.