SURJ has been part of a coalition to get the county to invest in community alternatives to incarceration instead of building a new jail. Over the past 6 months or so this coalition has been fighting for the county to center impacted families and communities in this process. As a result of this push, there are two community input sessions -- Thursday July 8 6-8pm and Saturday July 10 1-3pm, with an in person meeting tentative for August.

July 10 link: https://sccgov-org.zoom.us/j/93373701682

Ways to show up at these input sessions:

• Write a personal statement using this doc.

• Reiterate the Care First coalition principles: 1) We are stopping the jail. 2) We need to create non-carceral alternatives to the root issues that fuel incarceration. 3) We center the experiences and leadership of those who are incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, their families and loved ones.

Reiterate the Care First coalition goal: We call on the Board of Supervisors to divest from the harms of the criminal punishment system, and to invest the resources into Black and Brown community-led models of safety, restoration, and healing.