2. Prison Ministry -- How it is here: email

Greetings;

I was told by a County Supervisor some directors of mental health hospitals admitted they do 5150s,

which are involuntary mental health hospital incarcerations,

on people who are homeless if the county does not have an available bed in a shelter.

Is it Penal Code 207 if they do that?

Are we going to pretend again this year it doesn’t get below 50 degrees at night in October?

How many people will die, get sick or be miserable from hypothermia this October through June?

Or will we allow law enforcement to charge people who are homeless with a crime so they can take them to the county Main Adult Detention Facility;

or do a forced, unnecessary 5150 involuntary mental hospital incarcerations at the Crisis Stabilization Unit and other mental hospitals instead of taking them to shelter?

Aside from being unethical and possibly,

even probably,

illegal, those strategies are very expensive.

Our local economy seems to be dependent on the county Main Adult Detention Facility income.

It is reported detention facilities are a $200,000,000,000. annual industry.

That is $200 billion.

Please read this article and the email that is attached below.

(A link to a second newspaper article about the conditions of a local detention facility was entered here. Your community may not have any reporting about the condition of your detention facilities or mental health hospitals.)

Faith communities need to collaborate

because the local system isn’t working ethically.

The independent council created to review complaints against the sheriff department isn’t working.

Defendants and inmates need consistent, weekly communication with restorative justice team members

who hand out flyers with valuable information that is different every week,

so they get to know the identity of the restorative justice ministry team

and trust them.

An example of valuable information is telling defendants and inmates they should know they can tell the restorative justice team if:

*they witnessed use of unnecessary force and other illegal acts

*they need assistance getting safe access to medical attention, the phone, a phone number, a bailiff, or lawyer

*they need assistance knowing with what they are charged;

the date, time of their next court date;

any legal document related to their hearing;

glasses to read legal documents or see the phone dialer;

and how to make bail.

*they need advocacy because their public defender is hard to reach and not communicating

*they need a rules booklet, pencil, or paper with which to document illegal acts

Obviously spiritual direction is needed, too.

People don’t complain because they are concerned for their loved ones’ safety.

I would like to remain anonymous, but if you need proof, feel free to respond.

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