Josie and Jaison sit down with care worker and healing justice practitioner zara raven to explore how communities can protect children from physical abuse without turning to family policing or other harmful systems. Drawing from lived experience as both a survivor of harm and the system, zara shares how collective care networks can model real safety that is grounded in trust, accountability, and community connection. Together, we imagine what it means to keep kids safe through care, not control.About Our Guest: zara raven is a Mad Caribbean queer care worker, healing justice practitioner, and zinester based in Philadelphia on Lenapehoking land. A survivor of both state and interpersonal violence, zara organizes toward collective safety through care, not punishment. Their work includes coordinating Queenie’s Crew, an abolitionist education program for children and youth, and helping rebuild the Philly Childcare Collective, a mutual aid network providing childcare rooted in trust, accessibility, and political education. zara’s work reminds us that abolition isn’t the absence of safety, it’s the presence of care, accountability, and connection.Episode Notes: Support the work of upEND: upendmovement.org/donateEpisode Transcript: upendmovement.org/podcast/episode306Read “Reclaiming Safety”: upendmovement.org/safety Josie mentions the work of Montrose Grace Place and the documentary A Vision of Grace that the upEND team produced with the youth there. Mad Maps is a wellness tool created by Fireweed Collective. zara names many organizers that they are inspired by, including Bay Area Child Care Collective, Philly Community Bail Fund, Freedom Side School.We discuss the concept of Pod mapping, citing the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective and Mia Mingus. Learn more about zara’s work at relearningrelationships.xyz.