REBUILDING COMMUNITY – JAIL ALTERNATIVES

When:
September 16, 2015 @ 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
2015-09-16T17:00:00-07:00
2015-09-16T19:00:00-07:00
Where:
Garden Street Methohdist CHurch
1326 N Garden St
Bellingham, WA 98225
USA
Cost:
Free

New Release:  “Stop Punishing Taxpayers, Start Rebuilding Community” Report
“This fall, Whatcom County is at a crossroads in economic history.  Will we say ‘No’ to the sales tax increase and the expanding jail industry?  Instead, why not embrace jail reform, mental health, addiction and restorative justice alternatives?  These methods reduce jail population, cut costs and can be used to build a local economy that puts people back to work. Or, will we pass new taxes, and bail out the failed jail industry, punishing people, and going into debt forever to pay to operate it,” asks Joy Gilfilen, President of the Restorative Community Coalition.

The newly released “Stop Punishing Taxpayers, Start Rebuilding Community” report” exposes the underlying issues and offers viable solutions.

On Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at 5 PM, the Restorative Community Coalition is presenting the report in a public forum at the Garden Street United Methodist Church at 1326 N. Garden Street, in Bellingham. Everyone is encouraged to attend, and to bring friends.

“In this report, we strive to simplify the complex profit-on-punishment business model for the taxpayers, so they understand why the Restorative Community Coalition is against building a big regional jail, and instead advocates for reducing the size of the inmate population,” Gilfilen said.

Irene Morgan, Founder of the Coalition and co-author adds, “This report summarizes 9 years of research by thousands of people who studied poverty, crime, trauma and their side effects.  It shows ways that for a fraction of the cost we can create public safety by investing in people, not more punishment, prisons and jails.”

Copies of the report will be available at the meeting, or they can be downloaded at www.WhatcomRec.org or www.RestorativeCommunity.com. You can ask for the Report to Taxpayers, “Stop Punishing Taxpayers and Start Rebuilding Community” at 360-354-3653 or email impeace2@comcast.net with a suggested donation of $10 to cover printing.

 

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.