Posted: 09/24/2011 07:12:07 AM PDT
I would be remiss if I didn't say that our entire county is ill-prepared for folks coming home from prison. I have been educating, informing and advocating about the issues related to incarceration for 10 years. I have worked at the state level, with the Department of Corrections and with our local police departments on reducing recidivism, crime and blight.
I attended the Inmate Reintegration Forum Tuesday in Rancho Cucamonga about the AB 109 realignment, which designates that the state will no longer warehouse non-violent, non-serious and non-sex offender individuals and that the counties will be responsible for monitoring these people. I am troubled by the lack of investment in crime prevention and intervention that is needed in this community.
Millions of dollars will be allocated toward keeping people locked up in the county jails or wearing ankle bracelets and hiring more staff for the district attorney and the Probation Department, but no funds are being allocated toward intervention programs that prevent a person from climbing through your window at night. Sure, after the crime is committed we can count on law enforcement to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law - but that's after the fact.
Time for Change has been providing housing and supportive services to people leaving prisons since 2002. Our evidenced-based models have not only prevented people from re-committing crimes, but we have made these parents responsible for their children and their own future.
It's not OK to ignore the overwhelming statistics that support the effectiveness of drug treatment, education and parenting classes in reducing recidivism and resort back to the "law and order" style which has left our communities vulnerable and unsafe for decades.
I'm afraid of what will happen when thousands of folks come back to this community and find that there are no housing options due to current public housing laws, and no opportunities for job or entrepreneurship because the state routinely denies applications based on past felony convictions and the unemployment rate is in the double digits for the nation. Can you imagine being denied a barbering and cosmetology license because you made a poor decision and used drugs? We can't continue to ignore the fact that unless these people have access to basic necessities - food, clothing, shelter and the opportunity to provide for their children - we can't feel safe in our own homes.
The next generation of kids is highly likely to follow that same path unless we use their parents as models of rehabilitation.
It's been 18 years since I have lived the horrible existence of being drug-addicted, imprisoned and homeless. Today, I have helped over 500 women break the cycles of addiction, crime and child abandonment. I am not looking to be commended because I feel wholeheartedly that it is my duty and obligation, and I'm really good at it. Our success is unparalleled and our services are definitely needed in this community.
It's time for the community to rise and speak up to make sure that we are not left with thousands of desperate, hopeless, angry, homeless, drug-addicted people lurking on the streets. I don't want to be the guinea pig who shows how effective electronic monitoring is; I don't want to be the victim in yet another sampling of "tough on crime" rhetoric that would ignore statistics, data and facts about these people coming home.
I don't feel safe waiting for someone to commit a crime before the resources kick in with suppression and more jail time. Instead of spending all of the millions of dollars on more jails, ankle bracelets, officers we should be putting some of that money in this community for prevention and intervention.
Who is going to be next?
Kim Carter is founder and executive director of Time For Change Foundation in San Bernardino. She is a reader member of The Sun's editorial board.
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