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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Iliana Santiago, Staff Attorney at Community Justice Unit on Reinstating Funding for CJU
6:06:05
ยท
169 sec
Iliana Santiago, a staff attorney at the Community Justice Unit (CJU), appeals to the council to reinstate funding for CJU, emphasizing its crucial role in community safety and stability. She highlights CJU's impact in providing legal services, housing protection, and community support, particularly in vulnerable neighborhoods.
- CJU provided over 8,000 people with legal services and organized 111 community events
- The organization reached 1.6 million young people through legal education
- Santiago emphasizes that initiatives like CJU are not a luxury but a necessity for public safety and community empowerment
Iliana Santiago
6:06:05
Hi my name is Iliana Santiago and I'm a staff attorney at the Community Justice Unit.
6:06:09
I'm here today because I'm asking for the council to reinstate our state, our funding.
6:06:14
Forgive me.
6:06:14
I'm really nervous.
6:06:15
This is the first time I'm here.
6:06:16
As the young lady who testified before me stated, people, forgive me, initiatives like CJU CJU are not a luxury.
6:06:28
They're a necessity.
6:06:29
Cutting funding makes our cities less safe, our communities less stable, public safety that much more elusive.
6:06:37
This city has done amazing things.
6:06:40
It's committed itself to the cure violence model, to organizations who treat gun violence like a public health crisis, stopping violence before it spreads.
6:06:50
And we know that it works.
6:06:52
Last year alone there was a 19% decrease in gun violence.
6:06:56
And this is an actual lifeline that our communities are using in order to empower our youth and most vulnerable populations including our elderly and our disabled.
6:07:07
Historically we've learned that when we invest in justice we invest in safety.
6:07:11
A lot of people don't think about me specifically, lawyers, in terms of how we fit into that puzzle, but they're wrong.
6:07:21
CJU provides legal defense, housing protection, family support, crisis intervention in neighborhoods in need because a person fighting eviction, a young person with no job opportunities or a family torn apart by the system is more vulnerable to violence.
6:07:35
I'm gonna give you specific examples.
6:07:38
Our team, when a mother lost her son to gun violence, our housing specialist fought to get her emergency housing so she wasn't grieving her child in the streets.
6:07:47
When young people in East New York expressed fear of police interactions, our CJU organizers gave them tools to educate their peers on how to navigate these interactions safely, replacing fear with hope.
6:07:58
When senior citizens face eviction, we've secured rent relief preventing homelessness for our elders.
6:08:05
Specifically, my team, we go at least two or three times to these organizations.
6:08:10
This is time that young people are not out in the streets.
6:08:13
There was an idea, a statement before that talked about project based learning.
6:08:17
This is exactly what we're doing in our communities.
6:08:20
CJU provided over eight thousand
Althea V. Stevens
6:08:24
thirty seconds.
6:08:25
Eight thousand Take a breath and wrap it up.
Iliana Santiago
6:08:28
Absolutely.
6:08:29
Over 8,000 people with legal services, organized 111 community events, and reached 1.6 young people in legal education.
6:08:38
I'm asking you specifically to allow me not to say no.
6:08:41
I'm much better at saying yes.
6:08:43
I am a staff attorney at CJU and I'm really lucky to have my job because I really think that this is the only path forward to invest in our communities.
6:08:52
Thank you.