My name is Nicole and I am living in a
homeless shelter provided by Time For Change Foundation. This was the only option available to me when
I left prison December 3rd after serving 17 years, with $200 in my
pocket and the clothes on my back.
Although I had employment skills prior to my
incarceration and gained more during over the years in prison, I do not qualify
for monetary assistance. If it weren’t
for programs like Time For Change Foundation, I would be living on the street,
which would violate my parole and I would become a statistic of
recidivism.
Without a job, I am living at the poverty
level. I am here to raise my voice to
call on Governor Brown to build a road out of poverty in California for myself
and the 8.7 million Californian’s.
Until very recently I was part of the
overcrowding in the California prison system.
I felt firsthand the impact of Governor Brown’s efforts to reduce the
prison population and his repeated failures to follow the letter and the intent
of the numerous federal court orders to reduce the prison population.
Time and again Governor Brown has suggested
the solution of building more prisons, spending more money outsourcing inmates
and attempting to warehouse human beings instead of looking at the cost effectiveness,
both financially and on a human level, of spending that money on rehabilitation
instead.
California does not need
more prisons. California does not need
to ship its prisoners out to other states.
California needs to provide avenues not only for reintegration following
incarceration but for survival to avoid incarceration in the first place.
Putting the money he seeks to allocate to
building more prisons, back into the California communities, will ultimately
save the State money and improve the lives of Californians. Reallocating funds to restorations to
Medi-Cal, childcare, CalWORKs, SSI and IHSS will accomplish these goals.
It is my sincere hope
that Governor Brown will look at the whole picture, the long range goals, the
potential in many people who are currently living below the poverty level and
make some sweeping changes to the proposed budget to really invest in the
people of California and their unlimited capacity to thrive if given just a
little assistance.
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