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What’s happening in in our communities, with our city’s elected officials’ love of cages, and with the situation at ACDC?
First of all, THE JAIL STILL ISN’T CLOSED.
We have been hard at work with the Reimagining ACDC Taskforce to get everyone at the table and to guide this process of repurposing the jail! We know that transformation and systems change takes time. Especially if we’re committed to listening to the ideas from our communities. We all know that a repurposing of this magnitude will take years to accomplish. That’s why we’ve spent the last 6 months working to implement the legislation so many of us fought for – legislation that promised the closure of the jail and initiated the community-based process to determine what it will become. We know that without our constant pressure and leadership, this process would not have engaged our communities. Our many and diverse voices would not have been listened to as experts on what this city needs.
We’ve had multiple campaign victories along the way, but: WE STILL NEED TO CHANGE THE LAWS THAT ARE LOCKING AWAY OUR COMMUNITIES. WE MUST DECRIMINALIZE POVERTY AND REPEAL CITY ORDINANCES TARGETING BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE. Yes, the population is dwindling, but 25,000 PEOPLE ARE YEAR ARE STILL CYCLING THROUGH ACDC. We are proud that every day there are hundreds less people inside the cages of ACDC. From 600+ per day when we started to now fewer than 70 people a day- that is an undeniable victory. BUT 70 people a day still means over 25,000 people each year will be harassed on the street or pulled over, arrested, their lives disrupted and possibly changed forever.
Some of the charges that landed people in our jail last Friday?
Disorderly Conduct (DC) SEC 6-USE OF FIGHTING WORDS {106-81.6}
DC SEC 10-BREACH OF PEACE Y {106-81.10} THEFT BY SHOPLIFTING <=$100 {16-8-14} DRINKING IN PUBLIC {10-8}
The city must repeal these ordinances now and remove every last person from that jail and lock the doors from the outside!
WE MUST DEFUND THE JAIL SO IT CLOSES JULY 1ST AND INVEST IN OUR COMMUNITIES INSTEAD.
The city’s fiscal year starts on July 1st. Right now the Mayor’s office is toiling away behind closed doors creating a multi-billion dollar budget for the city. $20 - $32 million dollars of that was previously spent on the city jail. We must reallocate that money to community-based supports and services. Divest from criminalization of our communities and invest in the things our communities need to grow and thrive: housing, jobs, mental health and substance use supports.
So be ready, because soon we will need you to let the city know that we’ve come too far to let the jail linger open now and that we want to see the dollars rerouted back to the communities most harmed by its operation.
In the meantime, SHOW UP AT THE NEXT REIMAGINE ACDC TASKFORCE MEETING ON FEBRUARY 25TH to hear more about proposals for transforming the jail into the Center for Wellness and Freedom & let the city know we’re done meeting, it’s time to close the jail.
Reimagining ACDC Taskforce Meeting Tuesday, February 25th, 5-7:30pm Dennard Conference Center, Atlanta Technical College 1560 Metropolitan Pkwy SW, Atlanta, GA 30310