TESTIMONY
Joanne De la Paz from Freedom Agenda on the High Cost of Incarceration and its Impact on Community Needs
5:06:13
·
3 min
Joanne De la Paz testifies on the financial and emotional burden of her sons' incarceration and the excessive spending on incarceration compared to community needs.
- De la Paz shares the story of her two sons incarcerated in Arkansas due to unaffordable bail, highlighting the financial strain and emotional toll on her family.
- She criticizes the city for spending over $1 million on incarceration per person per year, contrasting it with the lack of investment in community needs.
- De la Paz urges the city council to allocate resources towards mental health programs and recreational centers instead of excessive incarceration.
- She calls for the closure of the Department of Corrections-operated "torture chambers" and the redirection of funds to support and uplift communities.
- De la Paz emphasizes that the current budget priorities reflect a failure to address community health and safety effectively.
Joanne De la Paz
5:06:13
Good afternoon, community members.
5:06:15
Thank you for allowing me to testify today.
5:06:17
My name is Joanne De la Paz.
5:06:19
I'm a member of Freedom Agenda.
5:06:20
I live in Harlem, New York.
5:06:22
I am a mother to 2 boys who are currently in Arkansas and have been there for the last year and a half, right in their cases.
5:06:30
Both of my sons was there because of a judge said a Belamo that I couldn't afford.
5:06:35
The back and forward from court days allow I mean, how long has taken a toll on me financially?
5:06:41
There is no way I can pay ransom day demand for my children's freedom.
5:06:47
The city the city has been closer to 1,000,000, so far keeping my shoulders on on an island where they are isolated from the rest of the city.
5:06:59
There is more money than I ever saw investing their well-being by our city government.
5:07:06
And what kind of treatment do they get for the course half of a $1,000,000 per person per year.
5:07:13
Since they've been there since they've been there, they have been suggested to violent attacks like being stabbed 12 to 14 times.
5:07:22
They've seen plenty of correction officers woman around but not assigned assigned to their post.
5:07:30
Most of the d o DOCS cost driven over over staffing, the radio, the radio, of uniform staff, through incarceration people is more than 4 times higher than the nay national area, average army.
5:07:51
My sons awful experience and the rest of the people on Reikazale who are sharing the same experience are prime examples of everyday that's wrong with our city budget promises.
5:08:08
We are the only Joe.
5:08:11
We we are the only Joe systems in the name in the nation.
5:08:13
We have more gards than people in custody.
5:08:16
And it's more we're throwing away while we cut funding from things out.
5:08:23
On our community needs.
5:08:25
Year after year, I hope that the city will find the resources and service that makes our community healthy and safe like putting mental health programs and recreation centers.
5:08:37
It says, this city continues to make my son, daughter, brother's niece, as a family invisible.
5:08:45
And when they're making it look at the balance of his budget, only system of care that he looks to cut.
5:08:53
I really called the city council to pass a budget that will reflect community needs ways to support and uplift our communities, not more punishment measures than leave our loved ones worth off.
5:09:08
We cannot keep the torture chambers open.
5:09:11
Please work with us.
5:09:12
Pass a budget that ends the special treatment of DOC and put the resources in place to close the torture chambers sitting in the middle of our city.
5:09:21
Thank you.