we can use these sorts of evidence-based effective approaches. and we owe it to our community to try those approaches first. before we start building more cages. in particular, for people whose primary reason for engaging with the criminal justice system is a health condition. whether that's mental health or drug use. i want to thank the community members for their leadership in [speaker not understood] raise this issue. thank you. >> thank you very much. next speaker, please. good afternoon, mr. chairman. laura [speaker not understood] representing the friends service community [speaker not understood]. healing justice in our san francisco office. the person who was supposed to represent us today is sick with the flu and she has a much better historical basis than i can give you in two minutes, but i can say that the american friends service committee has been working ~ to prevent more jails from being built in this town for decades. and the struggle is clearly not over.

if you simply address the 70% pretrial part of the problem, you would not need a new jail. it's easy to see the numbers are represented right in that statistic. and if, indeed, the district attorney's office is working on a tool to assess the capability of releasing more people pretrial, if that study should be done in time for you to redirect this decision and redirect these monies, it always comes down to a matter of priorities. and i know that the sheriff will say that the monies to build capital investment money is not the same thing as operation money and you can't just take it out of one pot and put it in another. but the reality is a lot of this is coming from the general fund and the reality is that all the time we're spending talking about this today and in other things is timely not able to keep on developing these very robust programs that san francisco has been doing such a great job on. i'm a native san franciscan and i'm incredibly proud of how we've done, really better than

any county in the state. with realignment and using pretrial and alternatives to incarceration. so, why don't you stay in that place and keep investing in that way. if we are 50% of the people in the jail are african-american and we have a 7% african-american population in this town that is shame 68 and we really have to do something about it. ~ shameful >> thank you very much. i do want to make a brief comment about our next speaker and i am very lucky i live in a district that is very engaged and people are very active and i'm very appreciative that roma guy who is a district 9 resident has been making sure that on this issue that we analyze and that whatever decision is made that it's driven by facts. so, i really appreciate that. ms. guy. thank you very much, supervisor. and thank you, all three of you, for agreeing to hold this hearing. i know that it originally was controversial, but nevertheless i think with analysis and evidence we can see that this

direction is san francisco model is working. and if you give us the next two years or 15 months, whatever you want, we will give you evidence by enhancing what already works, whether it's community services center, behavioral court, or whatever. that is what's cost-effective. the numbers are there and the outcomes are there with evidence. it's not just disney land. the other thing in terms of the report on page 7, why not while we're waiting -- we have the capital people look at if we don't build a new -- if we build a jail at another site, why aren't we moving up the rest of the facility priority for the hall of justice to move the staff and traffic court or whatever it is, to move them

out by 2019 with capital money since we don't really need it for the jail, buy the building, whatever you want. but get them out. it's unsafe, and that's the right thing to do. in the meantime, we need to enhance and reduce -- and we have a real financial possibility of going ahead and not rebuilding the jail at half the cost. another cost factor is that it is not true that there's no impact on this capitalization on the general fund. the interest rate, 15%? that come out of the general fund. you're paying for it. we need that money for alternatives. secondly, the mental health --v >> if you can wrap up. -- can you paid in the community by making eligible medi-cal -- former inmates -- >> thank you.

eligible for medi-cal and older inmates eligible for medicare. >> thank you. in prison they are not eligible. >> thank you. that is funded by the general fund. >> next speaker, and i have a few more names. monroe la fontaine. roberta moore. donald wilmet. and michael lion. good morning, my name is emilie harris and i'm the statewide coordinator for californians united for a responsible budget and i want to thank you all for having this hearing. i just wanted to point out, i know we've been -- i've been up here several times over the last few months talking about not wanting to build this new jail and wanted to appreciate that just over a few months we've talked about building a smaller jail to building an even smaller jail to even a possibility of building no jail. and i am here with lots of people in the room and in the overflow room who support no jail and wanted to talk a little bit about the fact that

the report that we were discussing today doesn't include any alternatives that are not law enforcement control. so, the diversion projects run by the sheriff and the da, so it doesn't take into account if we were to build mental health programs, drug treatment or affordable housing outside of the criminal justice system. so, i would like to propose that we change the question today. instead of is the jail a cost-effective approach to addressing violence and harm in our city, but instead think about what would it take -- what if we were making a plan today to reduce the prison -- the jail population by 600 in the next year. what would we be investing that $600 million in? what would be the programs? what if we weren't able to put any of that money into cages. and i think that we have that expertise in the room. the fact that the district attorney and the probation officer are standing up with us saying that it's too soon, we need to -- there is a possibility of no jail. we hope that you will take that

into consideration and stop the jail proposal immediately. and finally, i have a petition that those of us who have been working on starting the jail have been circulating that includes hundreds and hundreds of signatures of residents in san francisco, folk who weren't able to be here who also strongly oppose the new jail plan that we want to give over to you all today. >> thank you. next speaker. hill owe, my name is hanna mason and i'm with californians unite toeder r a responsible budget also doing social work right now. ~ i am opposed to the jail and just wanted to reiterate that as we've heard, mental health and substance abuse treatment programs need to be expanded and have proven to be more effective and cheaper for people to do before they would be in jail in the first place. we need to really look at the

way to expand diversion programs, probation, behavioral health court, thing like that, pretrial release, and really looking at those things that haven't all been outlined in the report. there have already been so many tactics that led to the decrease in jail population. and i think that san francisco is clearly a leader in that regard and we need to continue to be a leader by not building more spaces to incarcerate people. history has shown in california that when we build more jails, we fill them up. and i think that the pressure on the city of not having -- of having less jail space and having to look for alternatives is a really healthy pressure to continuing to decrease our jail population. i think that the recommendation from the board of state and community corrections to not give san francisco money to build a new jail is also a continued additional evidence

that this jail project doesn't make sense for our city. thank you. >> next speaker, please. good afternoon, supervisors and guests. i'm harriet sebastian. i'm 81 years old. my son was 10 years old and was arrested coming home from a birthday party with his 9 year old sister. we don't need another jail. there's new economic systems that are going around the country, privatize the jails. the sheriffs are responsible by a contract to keep them 90% full. so, what does that mean to the black man? come on now. you can figure it out. since the 1600s, black people made the products at the great cost of their lives. now they no longer make the

products. they are the products. the young black males are an endangered species and should be treated as such. we have some of the most brilliant innovative minds in the world here in san francisco. let's use this economic problem without harming anyone. i would be happy to discuss with some economic ideas for you in case you don't know any or you don't care about any. but in case you still want to build more jails, at least hire the black males to help build their new homes where they will live by hook or crook until they are old. california is the second-largest prison system in the world. $9 billion a year is spent.

it is a crime to be black and broke. because the bogeyman will get you. (applause) >> thank you. thank you. i'm going to read a few more names. reverend glenn da hope. [speaker not understood]. [speaker not understood]. penny showner. thank you, president campos, committee member. my name is jimmy [speaker not understood] and i am the vice-chair of the congress of african-american organization which represents approximately 15 african males and afro centric organizations in san francisco. the last speaker very eloquently described how many of us feel about a new jail. but let me speak a little bit to the issue of jobs and affordable housing for african americans in san francisco. i live in district 9. i see those google buses every

day. i don't see black folk getting on them buses. what's important to us is that google stop and pick some of us up in district 9 and district 10 and district 5. if they do those things we can reduce the jail population. you've heard from others today with regard to the notions about substance abuse treatment, mental health services. we know those things were pretrial diversion. i remember in 1976 when i used to work with will young, i know he doesn't want me to tell folks that, but we worked together to address the issues of substance abuse and mental health as it relates to people going to jail, getting foedctiontion out of jail and into pretrial diversion. ~ folks it is critical and essential that we have pretrial diversion and the other community based organizations that we've heard describe today. it is also critical and essential that housing, affordable housing, the mayor talked about 30,000 affordable units, market rate and below market rate, below market rate is too expensive for young black people in san francisco.

it is not possible for us to live here. we need to find a way to address jobs, and we need to find housing and we need to continue the efforts that we have made in san francisco to be a leader. bail reform is critical and essential. the sheriff, probation department, district attorney's office, those folks, the mayor and others need to sit down and figure out how we do bail reform and make sure the folks can get out of jail once they get into that environment or not go to jail at all. thank you. >> thank you very much, sir. next speaker. (applause) good afternoon. excuse me, i'm fighting a cold. my name is very konica shepherd. i'm a director of community partnership with the bayview health and wellness center. however, i stand here today in a whole different note as a voice of poor black people in the bayview hunters point community. our community as you know that has high rates of disparity across the board. what's sad to me is 6% of the population of black people that live here, 56% of them are

inmates in our jails. i could go on and on with data as you already know, but i'm concerned as aes are department of the city of san francisco who was born and raised here and to have four generations of my family still in this community and the desire to build a jail that costs $290 million is absolutely nonsensical to me. nonsensical because this wonderful city, which is one of the wealthiest cities in the nation, has a huge gap for poor people to ascertain affordable housing. last week, as the mayor spoke on the state of the city, he talked at the naval hunters point shipyard, he spoke of the eloquent housing shortage and the crisis that threatens to choke our economic growth and prosperity. he he talked about the shortage of how it affected working and middle income people. but i didn't hear him talk much about the working poor or the below poverty level people like

myself who can't afford to live in san francisco. the people who you have incarcerated are the men and women of these families that they have to come home to. it just seems to me that we're doing gentrification again. we did it in the mission, we did it in the fillmore, and now the bayview. black people, poor people, and mentally ill people are being fed up to fill the populations of jails that you want to build. ~ set up you want to take us out of one home and put us into your $290 million home. is this the economic growth and prosperity in the bayview we're looking forward to? >> thank you. thank you, ma'am. thank you. i hope we can make a change. >> thank you very much. thank you. >> next speaker, please. (applause) thank you. my name is charles minster. i'm a member of the senior and action and disability and

california alliance retired americans. i was going to make a suggestion to the sheriff if you wanted to have people to fill an expanded jail, you could take the pady wagons and go down here on montgomery street to chase bank, bank of america, wells fargo, citibank. you have folks down there who stole trillions and go up the street to the real estate association just a couple blocks from here. probably walk them over to the jail. there's plenty of people in this city who have stole trillions of dollars out of the pockets of this country and the world and none of them are going to jail. come on now. supervisor mar, i want to thank you. i know you stood with me on the picket lines to defend the sf8. and, you know, the s.f.8, they were seniors like myself, all black. one of them worked in this

building for 25 years and they were going to jail. i spent a year in there on $2 million bail because they were black and they stood up for their rights. so, i know that's what they want to do here because believe me, there's going to be upsurge in this society when the economic collapse occurs. people are right now chomping at the bit. i've been chomping at that bit for 40 years because something has to be done in this society to end this disparity in wealth. and that's going to happen. that's what they want a new jail for and also to keep the sheriffs occupied and hired. they're building a bureaucracy little big he. we don't need a new jail in this town. we need jobs, we need housing, health care. that's where we can put this money. it's unconscionable to think about building a jail at this time. thank you. (applause) >> [speaker not understood]. [speaker not understood] block. raphael sperry.

adrian sky roberts. [speaker not understood] leon, laurel butler. good afternoon, supervisors. my name is mindy kener. i work with anders and anders foundation. [speaker not understood]. whatever happens with the jails, we would like reentry clients to build and democrat aloe the jails. [speaker not understood]. we work with people who are incarcerated and do not have access to employment when they get out. we need to train them. we need to have funding available to help them so they don't go back in. this is speaking for the clients that i speak to every day. we also need to be mindful of the fact we need to accommodate families of those who are incarcerated to be able to see their loved ones.

chief suhr and public defender adachi spoke to the fact that it's very difficult to go to san bruno. we need families to see their families. it helps them while they're incarcerated. it gives them hope that they will be out and see their families. going to san bruno is impossible. we go thereby car. it takes 45 minutes to get there. so, i want you to please be mindful of those who are in and those who come out, and that help is needed badly. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. supervisors, i'm terry anders of anders and anders foundation. it probably will be a jail bill. but like mindy kener who spoke before me, why can't reentry be part of that? see, too often the economics is

the about the politics and the politics is about the economics. the people who are poor and incarcerated because they don't have the wherewithal to get themselves into another situation. so, since you are public officials, you're talking about building a public institution with incarceration, which there are some people that probably need to be there. but the reality is why not help change that factor by putting people in reentry who don't have no job skills? putting them to work? you're talking about putting $290 million? how much is that going to the depressed neighborhoods? how many of that is going to ex offenders? you need to think about that when you're chalking up those numbers. >> i have a few more names.

david lewis and [speaker not understood]. greetings. my name is la fontaine, i'm a father of three, organization called all of us none. and also a full captive of the san francisco county jail 43 months, almost three years. 33 months, not 32 months 15 days, but exactly 33 months. ~ and we can build the most urban friendly, eco friendly, ergonomickally friendly services programs, church members going into it and have it in the most ideal locations. but as long as there's a culture of punishment, retribution and violence stemming from the guards who

helped create [speaker not understood] environment within the county jail, all of them san bruno, i've been in the county jail here, the sixth floor, the seventh floor, the jail will only serve as a cage that provides employment for the nonimprisoned population and all the contractors and whatnot. it is 2014 and sadly we are revisiting a very horrible side of u.s. history, except with better public relations, a pseudomulti-cultural dissertation, and a refined methodologies of hypocracy. we must invest in people and stop investing multinational transnational corporations security forces. thank you. >> next speaker, please. thank you. (applause) hello, my name is [speaker not understood] and i'm the program coordinator for project [speaker not understood] which is a program that supports teenagers who has a parent in prison or jail. and i'm here today to read a statement on behalf of one of

youths in my program who can't come because unfor the fortunately these meetings happen at the hours youth can't attend. i'm going to read a statement on behalf of her now. i am the child of a father who pep nearly 20 years in and out of jail and most recently released. i am a current student at city college of san francisco and resident of san francisco my entire life and therefore i know firsthand what services children and families and those in our jail system need in addition to knowing what services my family still needs in working to reunify with my father. it is absurd to argue that spending money to build a new jail will benefit children of incarcerated parents by providing better [speaker not understood] to interact with our parents and programming in the jail. it would be better to [speaker not understood] and provide sustainable living for us all. funding a new jail will make it harder for my younger sister to successfully grow up in san francisco because there will be less money for books in her school, for healthy food in her

cap tier i can't and for a safe place to go after school. it will make it harder for her to thrive. why invest in a new jail rather than the potential of our youth? helping a child or teen know that potential today could very well reduce the need for a new jail tomorrow. san francisco has done a great job of providing alternatives to incarceration and i urge you to stay commit today that vision which means not using our money to fund a new jail. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. (applause) ~ michael [speaker not understood] has been involved in [speaker not understood] panthers senior disability action now for 15 years, but i'm speaking as an individual. i believe this rebuilding of san francisco jail is going to be bad for all of san francisco residents, but the rebuild is going to be inappropriate and harmful to different populations and different ways. so, i would want to concentrate on the benefits of seniors and

people with disability, although the other groups equally valid reasons to oppose it such as young adults, parents with children, and lgbt residents. to run them down quickly, jail is a particular hardship for seniors and people with disability. jails is inappropriate for seniors and people with disability, but most important seniors and people with disability need the services that would be sacrificed in order to finance this jail thing. the projected cost, 600 million if you include financing, could give us 20 million in services each year over the 30 years that would be required to pay that debt. the $1 billion prop c housing trust fund could be expanded by 60% so we would really start including housing for very low-income groups like seniors and people with disability. 600 of the city's poorest

family could be in subsidized apartments for 30 years. mentally medical health programs that have been cutback for years could be restored and even expanded. but most important, we grape with everyone else that the space already exists in the jails even with the closure of cjc3 and 4. in fact, with new proposed sentencing -- >> thank you. not even cj6 would be necessary. >> thank you. next speaker, please. good afternoon, my name is [speaker not understood]. the conditions at the 850 bryant jail are deplorable. this is more than a fact. it is a message that devalues those who are housed there. some people may be adverse to having anything too nice for

those they want to see punished. keep in mind that many people in jail are awaiting their day in court and have not been found guilty of anything. nobody is suggesting providing luxurious living. but a facility that is clean and safe for inmates, staff, and visitors is a must. supporting rehabilitation and supporting a new jail are not mutually exclusive. no matter how creative we are with alternatives of incarceration, there will remain a portion of the population who will spend time in jail. i am a strong proponent of rehabilitation. i was raised by [speaker not understood] expert and spent my career developing and running rehabilitation programs in the nonprofit sector as well as for the city and county. if inmates are kept in surroundings that indicate they are deemed unworthy, they will have difficulty feeling hopeful enough to engage in

rehabilitation. the new facility would have classrooms so inmates could gain knowledge and skills to help turn their lives around. by being on-site, transportation issues are eliminated. rehabilitation become accessible and a natural part of the daily routine. we need a decent jail in which people awaken to new days that lay the foundation for better tomorrows for them and ultimately for san francisco. >> thank you very much. next speaker, deborah bruce. elaine morgan. david baruto. and kim roberti. [speaker not understood]. sorry about that. go ahead. i'm [speaker not understood]. i've been a resident of the mission district since 1968 and i came there as an activist and i'm still an activist.

~ around civil rights, and now prison reform and general overhaul. i went to the sacramento hearing that was about the funding of the jails in the state. i was very impressed with the fact that san francisco was not funded, and it kind of surprised me. i am not sure if the reasons behind it and what the justification was, but to me it sent a very strong message that the adequate -- the buildings are adequate, the ones that are here. i really believe that. i toured the facility at 850 bryant once and i found it repairable. it was sold to us when it was built as an earthquake sound building and that it would last for many, many decades. there is another point i want to bring up and that is that

the people being released from the prisons in this state have not been rehabilitated as they should have been and it's going to be up to the countieses to rehabilitate them. there has to be ~ a lot of citizenry involvement and thing like that. we need to focus on funding the rehabilitation rather than building more facilities. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. reverend glenda hope. i've worked in the tenderloin for 40 years and i'm the founder of the safe house for homeless women escaping prostitution. on the streets in the s-r-os and especially at our safe house, we see an alarming increase in serious mental illness. mental health treatment should be a priority focus for city planning and budgeting, jailing, mentally ill people only exacerbates their problem. our safe house is an example of an