Pledge of Conduct

Joining the TRUST Network requires commitment and discipline. You must be willing to be:

  • Purely non-partisan. Whatever your personal views, choices, or concerns may be, this effort is meant to reach everyone and to help keep everyone safe, no matter what their views and choices are.

  • Nonviolent, and focused on preventing and transforming conflict. People have a wide range of agendas about how politics and elections should go -- and even a wide range of ideas and assumptions about what makes society safe. We are laser-focused on preventing and mitigating violence.

  • Clear about what you are observing: It is so normal to make immediate assumptions about what you see, that it takes some thoughtfulness to be truly accurate.

  • Protective of people’s security and your own: We will help you learn what protocols keep people safe. We plan to avoid confusion, misunderstanding, anger or false hope.

  • Thoughtful of your own abilities and limits: You cannot help anyone if you are hurt. And if you get involved in something explosive you may very likely make the situation worse. Having good intentions is not enough to guarantee that you also Do No Harm. There are many ways you can help mitigate violence, but getting in the middle of it is not one of them. We are focusing on prevention. We will also identify individuals and systems that have the skills and resources to address situations that have already escalated. If you are not one of those, you must hold back.

There is a resulting Code of Conduct you must agree to:

As a volunteer with the TRUST Network, I agree:

  • NOT to attempt to intervene personally or physically in an escalating or violent situation without

    • assessing rigorously my own capabilities, training, skill, and experience, and the support available to me; and

    • taking full responsibility for any risk I assume.

  • To maintain the confidentiality of personal information of all persons involved in and/or affected by the situation and of all persons involved in this project.

  • To remain neutral and non-partisan in all actions and communications associated with this project.

  • To be respectful, civil, and inclusive in all communications associated with this project.

  • To strive to choose quality information from credible sources.

  • To report information using observed information, not assuming a person's opinion or group affiliation.

  • To ask permission from the management team before using any data generated by this project for purposes outside this project.

If you cannot agree to any part of this code, know that there are many ways you can improve the world and we are grateful for your part in doing so, but this particular project is not for you.

Return to Join Us page HERE.