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Flores, Dora From: Karen Hernandez <noreply@adv.actionnetwork.org> Sent: Monday, September 16, 2024 1:10 PM To: eComment Subject: Focus on Prevention & Rehabilitation, Not Punishment! Oppose Proposition 36! Attention: This email originated from outside of City of Santa Ana. Use caution when opening attachments or links. Santa Ana City Council, Dear Mayor Amezcua and the Santa Ana City Council, My name is Karen Hernandez, and as a person who works in Santa Ana, I urge you to vote NO on the proposed resolution supporting Proposition 36. Supporting Proposition 36 would have negative consequences for Santa Ana's most vulnerable residents and undo years of progress in criminal justice reform. This measure, which emphasizes punishment, would lead to higher incarceration rates, especially affecting communities of color, worsening racial inequities. Proposition 47, passed in 2014, has saved over $800 million and reduced racial disparities by redirecting funds to essential services like mental health care and homelessness prevention. Programs such as Project Kinship and Neutral Ground have helped residents reintegrate post -incarceration, reducing recidivism and promoting public safety. Endorsing Proposition 36 would return us to the failed "tough on crime" policies, increasing the prison population and racial disparities without addressing root causes of crime like poverty and substance use. Proposition 36 would also divert critical funds from education, housing, and job training, worsening homelessness and economic instability in the City. We all want to live in safe and stable neighborhoods. But instead of fixing homelessness, drug use, and crime, Prop 36 will make these issues worse by eliminating programs proven to turn people's lives around and wasting millions of dollars on mass incarceration instead. The big corporations, prison lobby, and right-wing interests behind Prop 36 are putting profit over the health of Santa Ana's and California's communities. Santanerxs deserve real solutions that prevent crime and improve everyone's quality of life —like affordable housing, good jobs, and access to mental health and drug treatment. Don't fall for Prop 36's false