Joseph Baddley, 53, became homeless after being in and out of prison. Not having access to medical care, when Baddley became sick, he hit rock bottom. But thanks to a new program to build more supportive housing in Los Angeles County, Baddley has found an apartment to call home. The 43 units, spread over five formerly blighted and foreclosed properties in South Los Angeles, were specifically created for those who were homeless, veterans in need of housing, former inmates re-entering the community, those living with special needs and those with mental health illnesses.
“Many people helped save my life,” said Baddley. “I love my home and I treat it as a gift,” said Baddley.
Recent ribbon cutting for the the Coalition for Responsible Community Development apartments.
The apartments represent the best of what government, the private sector and community organizations can accomplish when they work together. The project was sponsored by the Coalition for Responsible Community Development and involved a successful collaboration among Los Angeles County, Los Angeles City, the Corporation for Supportive Housing, Restore Neighborhoods Los Angeles, Los Angeles Housing Department, California Housing Finance Agency and Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health among others. The project was completed in August 2013 at a total development cost of $10.5-million. Ten of the 43 units are specifically designed for the visually, physically or mobility impaired.
“CRCD Apartments, with its support from both the City and the County, is a example of permanent supportive housing that works,” said CRCD Executive Director Mark Wilson, noting that residents will be eligible to receive mental health services, regular health care and an array of social services supported with intensive case management.
Former inmate and resident Yolanda Brown. Photo courtesy of CRCD.
For women who have been incarcerated, the apartments offer an especially important place. Many women who are former inmates have trouble finding jobs and housing and end up on the street, where they are often in danger, explained Susan Burton, executive director of A New Way of Life, one of the organizations responsible for the successful re-entry efforts. A New Way of Life supports these residents by providing therapy and legal assistance at court hearings. Many women residents are mothers with children, Burton said. These mothers also receive job training services and assistance with child care.
Resident and former inmate Joseph Baddley tears up while welcoming Supervisor Ridley-Thomas into his new home.
At the recent grand opening of the apartments, Baddley invited a few guests into his home including A New Way of Life Executive Director Susan Burton and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.
“He invited us into his home, held back his tears best he could and told us his story,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. “This is the face of reentry.”
Supporting affordable housing has been a focus for the Supervisor since taking office in 2008. Since 2009, the Supervisor has helped to create 1,100 units in the second district representing a total public/private investment of more than $350-million. And 295 additional units are now under construction representing an additional $121-million.
During his public remarks at the grand opening, Supervisor Ridley-Thomas focused on the economic benefits of supportive housing to the county. He noted that building housing costs far less than incarceration.
“Many talk about redemption, recovery and reentry,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. “The Coalition for Responsible Community Development is doing it.”
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to include a strong jail diversion program as part of its overall jail master plan.
Acting on a motion authored by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, the board called for a strategy to divert a minimum of 1,000 inmates into mental health and services, analyze the need for more supportive housing, assess the cost savings of this program and include options for funding for staffing and operating a diversion program.
“The reality is that the vast majority of the men and women who are incarcerated suffer from mental health conditions and substance abuse disorders,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. “Recent estimates suggest that upwards of 67% of inmates have substance abuse disorders. Not only is this costly for county taxpayers, but the outcomes are unacceptable, unsustainable and do not protect the public, with many simply cycling in and out of the system.”
That the county’s antiquated jail system needs to be modernized is clear, and Men’s Central Jail certainly needs to replaced, the Supervisor said. But he emphasized the Los Angeles County Jail Master Plan, as presented on Tuesday by Vanir Construction Management Inc,. was not comprehensive enough with regard to diversion and that jail construction is only one component of an overall strategy to manage the inmate population. He abstained from the vote on the construction plan.
“Providing appropriate mental health services, substance abuse treatment, job readiness and training as well as permanent supportive housing when it is needed, will likely lead to less homelessness, crime and re-incarceration,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas.
District Attorney Jackie Lacey, who outlined the diversion program her office is currently creating, noted that there are approximately 3,000 inmates who are mentally ill, essentially turning the jail into a psychiatric ward.
“It is clear even to those of us in law enforcement that we can do better in Los Angeles County; the current system, simply put is unjust,” said District Attorney Lacey.
Both District Attorney Lacey and Supervisor Ridley-Thomas cited diversion programs in Florida, Tennessee and Texas as examples where recidivism rates have decreased, resulting in lower crime rates and lower jail costs.
Supervisor Ridley-Thomas’ motion asks that the District Attorney work with Los Angeles County Sheriff and Fire Chief, the directors of the Departments of Mental Health, Health Services, Public Health, Veterans Affairs and several other offices to assess existing county programs and determine the need for services, supportive housing and other services.
Because of overcrowding and other issues in the outdated jail such as bad lighting, locks that don’t work and non-compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, federal officials will likely intervene if the Board of Supervisors doesn’t act to improve conditions for mentally ill inmates.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to include a strong jail diversion program as part of its overall jail master plan.
Acting on a motion authored by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, the board called for a strategy to divert a minimum of 1,000 inmates into mental health and services, analyze the need for more supportive housing, assess the cost savings of this program and include options for funding for staffing and operating a diversion program.
“The reality is that the vast majority of the men and women who are incarcerated suffer from mental health conditions and substance abuse disorders,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. “Recent estimates suggest that upwards of 67% of inmates have substance abuse disorders. Not only is this costly for county taxpayers, but the outcomes are unacceptable, unsustainable and do not protect the public, with many simply cycling in and out of the system.”
That the county’s antiquated jail system needs to be modernized is clear, and Men’s Central Jail certainly needs to replaced, the Supervisor said. But he emphasized the Los Angeles County Jail Master Plan, as presented on Tuesday by Vanir Construction Management Inc,. was not comprehensive enough with regard to diversion and that jail construction is only one component of an overall strategy to manage the inmate population. He abstained from the vote on the construction plan.
“Providing appropriate mental health services, substance abuse treatment, job readiness and training as well as permanent supportive housing when it is needed, will likely lead to less homelessness, crime and re-incarceration,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas.
District Attorney Jackie Lacey, who outlined the diversion program her office is currently creating, noted that there are approximately 3,000 inmates who are mentally ill, essentially turning the jail into a psychiatric ward.
“It is clear even to those of us in law enforcement that we can do better in Los Angeles County; the current system, simply put is unjust,” said District Attorney Lacey.
Both District Attorney Lacey and Supervisor Ridley-Thomas cited diversion programs in Florida, Tennessee and Texas as examples where recidivism rates have decreased, resulting in lower crime rates and lower jail costs.
Supervisor Ridley-Thomas’ motion asks that the District Attorney work with Los Angeles County Sheriff and Fire Chief, the directors of the Departments of Mental Health, Health Services, Public Health, Veterans Affairs and several other offices to assess existing county programs and determine the need for services, supportive housing and other services.
Because of overcrowding and other issues in the outdated jail such as bad lighting, locks that don’t work and non-compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, federal officials will likely intervene if the Board of Supervisors doesn’t act to improve conditions for mentally ill inmates.
When Julio Marquez was released from Los Angeles County jail, he struggled to return to a normal life. One of the biggest challenges he faced came from the lack of something small a government-issued identification. Without it, he could not drive, readily enroll in school or get a job.
To help Marquez and thousands of other ex-offenders trying to re-enter society seamlessly, the Board of Supervisors this week voted to ask county offices, including the probation and sheriff’s departments, and Countywide Criminal Justice Coordination Committee to work with the state Department of Motor Vehicles to develop a process that would provide IDs both to adult and youth ex-offenders. One potential option would be to place California Department of Motor Vehicles staff at county jail and probation facilities to distribute ID cards. The agencies are to return to the board by early March with a plan that includes proposals on how to fund the program. County departments already have begun a process to provide birth certificates to ex-offenders.
“How are you supposed to access resources when we don’t even have IDs?” Marquez asked the Board. “If we are about rehabilitation and creating a better society, this could all be averted with IDs. “
More than 19,000 inmates spend their days behind bars in one of eight Los Angeles County jails. Upon release, these ex-offenders leave jail without an identification card or their birth certificate, making their re-entry into society difficult to navigate, including obtaining the mental health and substance abuse services they need, and increasing the likelihood of failure and recidivism.
“Providing these vital records is fundamental if we are to reduce recidivism and improve public safety,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas, who authored the motion. “We want low crime rates; we want a low recidivism rate, and we want successful re-entry of ex-offenders. So I applaud the board for supporting a plan that seeks to help this population lead productive lives.”
Angela Chung, policy associate with Children’s Defense Fund applauded the motion.
“This is a common sense solution and real cost effective approach to working with people,” said Chung.
Susan Burton, executive director of a New Way of Life Re-Entry Project and a member of the county’s Sybil Brand Commission for Institutional Inspections, which conducts inspections of jails, probation and correctional facilities in the county, noted that the motion will enhance public safety.
“This is just good public safety,” said Burton. “ID’s are what everyone needs when they are coming back into the community.”
D’Lita Miller stared at a picture of herself at 11, where she smiles proudly, wearing a white dress and pearls as her teacher hugged her on her 6th grade graduation. She was a straight-A student, president of her class, attended church and was all around a good kid.
But only a few months later, her life crumbled around her.
In the fall of that year, she was kidnapped and held against her will for three days by a neighbor and other men who repeatedly raped her. When she was finally able to escape, she ran out of the house, barefoot, to a neighbor who took her to the hospital.
She was never the same.
Miller, now an advocate for young girls who are sexually trafficked, knows “the life” all too well. After the rapes, feeling worthless and lost, she became prey for older men, and ultimately became one of the hundreds of teenage girls that are trapped in a life of prostitution, selling her body to men three times her age.
Now an adult who has been out of the life for 13 years, she works to rescue young victims from the streets, leading them out one at a time.
“I was a victim, then a survivor. Now I am a leader,” she said. “When children are in that situation, they want to be able to relate to someone. I can’t express more strongly, how important it is to have survivor advocates.”
In Los Angeles County, an estimated 3,000 children are trafficked for sex. Some are runaways, others are in the foster care system, others are duped into the trade by pimps and traffickers who pretend to be boyfriends – many have been assaulted and raped early in life, as was D’Lita, and believe they deserve nothing better.
It is an increasingly sophisticated and lucrative trade, run by gangs as part of a criminal enterprise and one that is becoming more profitable than drug dealing.
While much of the trafficking happens online, a great deal of the action occurs along popular “tracks” such as Long Beach Boulevard and Figueroa Street. Along these stretches, in alleys and run-down motels, men pay to have sex with girls as young as 12. On any given weekend night, as many as 1,000 cars line up along Long Beach Boulevard with men waiting to buy sex with girls, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Traffickers are also on site. These gang members and pimps are increasingly violent and have taken to tattooing their victims on the face, neck or legs to further humiliate them and discourage them from running away.
In trainings and presentations she makes throughout the state, Miller helps those working to end sex trafficking — family members, foster parents, case workers, social workers and medical professionals — to recognize the signs of trafficking.
These include: youth who are interested in, or are in relationships with older men; inexplicable tattoos, children who seem depressed, fearful, full of tension or ones who suddenly have access to newfound, unaffordable luxuries such as expensive clothing or jewelry.
Many victims blame themselves for their situation and do not recognize that they are being exploited, she said.
“A young lady I was talking with didn’t consider herself a victim. She wanted to go back to the life. And I said, ‘I’ve been where you are but I know this is not the path set for you.’ In their minds they believe this is their choice. And if they ran away, they believe it is their fault,” she said.
Furthermore, law enforcement traditionally has arrested the girls, charging them with prostitution even if they are minors and cannot legally consent. Because many of their buyers are not arrested, a deep mistrust of law enforcement is created.
“These children watch as the adult man is set free,” she said. “And they are thinking, ‘this is the man who just raped me.’”
Miller remembers those men. Her customers were husbands, fathers, grandfathers, lawyers, politicians and businessmen. They owned homes and were employed. She reflects back on those days and wishes she had received mental health help to deal with her trauma. She longs to address the customers one day in a training session. And what would she tell them? Simply this: “Stop buying girls.”
Like many, I was surprised to hear about Sheriff Lee Baca’s decision to retire. I applaud the Sheriff, however, for taking a step he firmly believes to be in the best interest of the men and women who work in the department.
The mantra for our county, however, does not change with his impending departure: Reform is essential for a department that has been wracked by one crisis after another.
In addition to the recent appointment of veteran prosecutor Max Huntsman as inspector general of the Sheriff’s Department, the time has come for Los Angeles County to establish a permanent citizen’s oversight commission.
Los Angeles County is simply behind the times on this front. Several cities in this country, from New York to Los Angeles, have commissions to oversee law enforcement departments to ensure constitutional policing in our jails and communities.
For public confidence to be restored there must be singularly focused independent civilian oversight. This oversight is essential to make reforms and bring forth an open process to allegations of misconduct and to avoid jail scandals, committee inquiries and federal investigations.
Citizens and advocates for reform repeatedly have issued clarion calls for meaningful participation in policing the county’s largest sheriff’s department in the nation. The commission must have the power to ensure that its members’ voices are heard and that a true partnership with the public exists.
One of the most important recommendations of the Citizens’ Commission on Jail Violence was for the Board of Supervisors to create an independent Inspector General’s Office to provide comprehensive oversight and monitoring of the sheriff’s department and its jails.
The recruitment process, which has been on-going for several months, has identified a number of potential candidates and now, acting on a motion by Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Ridley-Thomas, the board has voted to create a vetting committee to review their qualifications. At the end of the review it will issue a recommendation to the Supervisors for their consideration.
The Vetting Committee will have representation from the citizens’ commission, the sheriff’s department, and the civil rights community. Also, given his background, expertise and current role as the Implementation Monitor, Richard Drooyan will serve as the facilitator, but not as a voting member.
Appointed to the committee will be: the Hon. Lourdes Baird and the Hon. Robert Bonner, both of whom were members of the jail violence commission; Assistant Sheriff Terri McDonald; John W. Mack, former president of the Urban League, and Samuel Paz, noted civil rights attorney.
The committee will have 30 days to make its evaluations and then submit a list of the most qualified candidates to the supervisors.
Although two decades have almost passed since the Northridge earthquake, the Los Angeles County Fire Department wants to make sure residents are prepared when the next big one strikes. To that end, the Los Angeles County Fire Department is holding free community emergency response team training (CERT) classes throughout the county to teach basic training in safety and lifesaving skills.
Because earthquakes strike without notice, it’s important for Southern California residents to know what to do when the ground starts shaking. The 6.7 magnitude Northridge quake lasted a matter of seconds but resulted in dozens of deaths, miles of damaged streets, flattened buildings and the collapse of freeways. The 10-second temblor, which struck at 4:31 a.m., was triggered by a fault that squeezed the northern San Fernando Valley between two mountain ranges. In fire department classes, participants learn CPR, bandaging techniques and basic first aid.
The next upcoming classes will run from September 28 to November.
September 28
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sorenson Park – Gymnasium
16801 East Ave P
Lake Los Angeles, CA
October 4
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Claremont Colleges
CAMPUS SAFETY
150 Eighth Street.
Claremont, CA 91711
October 5
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Cerritos Sheriff’s Station
Community Safety Center
18125 Bloomfield Ave
Cerritos, CA
October 5
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
City of Lynwood Senior Center
11331 Ernestine Avenue
Lynwood, CA 90262
November 2
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Artesia Park (Community Center)
18750 Clarkdale Ave,
Artesia, CA
Los Angeles County Fire is also spreading the word about earthquake preparedness via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages. For additional earthquake safety tips from Los Angeles County Fire, or to sign up for the emergency response team training classes, visit their website at www.fire.lacounty.gov or call the LA. County Community Service Liaison Laura Walters (310) 217-7074.
[raw]
* Drop down onto your hands and knees before the earthquake knocks you down.
* Cover your head and neck – and your entire body if possible – under a sturdy table or desk.
* If there is no shelter nearby, only then should you get down near an interior wall or low-lying furniture that won’t fall on you, and cover your head and neck with your arms and hands.
* Hold onto your shelter until the shaking stops. Be prepared to move with your shelter if the shaking shifts it around.
[/raw]
In a swift response to notice that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into whether Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies have abused inmates, Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Gloria Molina are calling for the creation of a permanent citizen’s oversight commission.
The latest probe into the county jails, which will focus specifically on the treatment of mentally ill inmates, significantly expands the federal government’s ongoing investigations into the jails. A criminal investigation into allegations of excessive force and other wrongdoing has been underway since 2011. Similar concerns about use of force and abuse by jail deputies are also the centerpiece of the civil probe.
“The seriousness of this new investigation and the allegations of abuse that prompted it cannot be ignored,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. “The sheriff’s department has long required a level of scrutiny that has been missing, and although the board only controls it’s budget, the department is there to serve the citizens of L.A. County, and that’s who should have greater oversight.”
“Transparency, without question, is needed to ensure that there is proper oversight of the sheriff’s department,” said Supervisor Molina. “A sheriff’s department oversight commission is the best vehicle to ensure accountability.”
In their motion to establish a Los Angeles County Citizen’s Law Enforcement Commission, the supervisors maintain that the new investigation dramatizes the need for heightened scrutiny of the sheriff’s department. Continued allegations of excessive force, significant litigation costs and a moral imperative to ensure constitutionally appropriate policing in the jails and communities justifies the establishment of an oversight entity without delay. Structural reform clearly will require more than intermittent and temporary examination of the department.
Although the board’s authority over the sheriff, who is an elected official, largely is limited to budgetary matters, the supervisors clearly have the authority to establish an independent advisory citizen’s oversight commission – as it has done in the past.
The supervisors’ motion, to be voted on at this Tuesday’s meeting, calls for each supervisor to appoint a commissioner to the panel by October 15. In addition, it calls for a funding and staffing plan for the commission and for county counsel to cement the commission’s role with language formalizing the relationship between the Sheriff’s Department, the Office of the Inspector General and the board.
Against the backdrop of Twin Towers jail in downtown Los Angeles, parents, education advocates, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Ridley-Thomas and Los Angeles Unified School District Board member Monica Garcia called on state and national leaders to invest in early childhood education rather than devoting more money in prisons and jails.
The rally came one day after leaders in Sacramento reached a compromise on a proposed solution to prison overcrowding, and activists seized the moment to call for a wholesale rededication to “preschool, not prisons.” The event was organized by Raising California Together, a coalition of child care providers, parents, educators, clergy, labor unions, small businesses and community groups united to press for local, state, and national policy solutions to increase access to quality child care and early learning programs.
Studies show that the return on investment from early education is as much as $17 dollars saved for every dollar spent. Without early childhood education, children are 25 percent more likely to drop out of school, 40 percent more likely to become a teenage parent and 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime.
The mood of the event was upbeat. Advocates from Homeboy Industries turned out in force, parading to the Twin Towers to call for a shift in priorities away from incarceration. Parents brought little children dressed up as doctors, astronauts, a chef and other careers that will be in reach with a quality education.
“We need to make an investment in the front end, in these children, because the back end is the structure standing behind you,” the Supervisor said, referring to the jail. “We have to embrace each other and look at the human capital we have to work with and develop.”
Currently, nearly 20,000 people are incarcerated in local county jails, while 133,000 are in state prisons in California and nationwide – 1.5 million people are incarcerated in prisons according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics—making it one of the highest rates of incarceration in the world.
“We need to shift our priorities,” he said. “We need to invest in developing a quality workforce and universal preschool. We support President Obama’s plan to invest billions in quality early learning. Investing in 0-5 and not 25 years to life is not about being soft on crime – it’s about being firm in our commitment to the future and our children.”
School board member Monica Garcia led the crowd in a pointed call and response:
“What do we want?” she asked the crowd.
“Preschools!”
“When do we want it?”
“Now!”
