To: Leroy Baca, LA County Sheriff and Hilda Solis, Board of Supervisors Candidate
Los Angeles Needs Mental Health Services, Not More Jail Cells
Make development of community-based mental health and substance abuse services, rather than more jails, a central focus of your 2014 LA County Sheriff's re-election campaign and Board of Supervisor campaign.
Why is this important?
"Dean" was a young, easily influenced resident of a halfway house for alcoholics and addicts where I volunteered for many years. Over 10 years that I knew him, I saw our criminal justice turn him into a hard, possibly lifelong criminal by treating his drug problems with increasingly long incarcerations, rather than the mental health and substance abuse treatment he needed.
"Dean" was like a lot of people I met at that halfway house. They told me that the majority of prisoners had drug and alcohol problems -- and for many that's why they were locked up.
Now,we're hearing the call for more jail cells in Los Angeles. But a better use of our taxes would be to improve community-based mental health and substance services. And that would give "Dean" and thousands like him a better chance at a useful, productive.
Please make this issue a central plank in your 2014 election campaigns.
"Dean" was like a lot of people I met at that halfway house. They told me that the majority of prisoners had drug and alcohol problems -- and for many that's why they were locked up.
Now,we're hearing the call for more jail cells in Los Angeles. But a better use of our taxes would be to improve community-based mental health and substance services. And that would give "Dean" and thousands like him a better chance at a useful, productive.
Please make this issue a central plank in your 2014 election campaigns.