The response of Di Fi (or why NO politician actually gives a sh!t about you...no matter who you are...)
On November 10th, I sent the following letter to Mayor Garcetti, My Councilperson, and Senators Boxer and Feinstein.
This is the crux of the message. Read it carefully.
As you may already know, our nation faces a serious problem of the overcriminalization of individuals who are mentally ill, homeless and/or suffer from substance addictions.
As someone who is chronically homeless myself, I have become very concerned about the treatment of these individuals and the absence of effective programs in Los Angeles and in California in general.
More than 450,000 prisoners in the US are suffering from a mental illness. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “this includes 24% of state prison inmates, and 21% of local jail inmates.” In addition, an average of $9 Billion per year is spent on prisoners with mental illnesses. Incidents such as the North Carolina inmate who died of thirst while held in solitary confinement and the death of an Albuquerque, New Mexico man by a police officer demonstrate the need to implement programs for the better understanding and treatment of people like myself.
Research has shown that cities that provide programs that provide alternatives to incarceration for homelessness, mental health issues, and drug addiction are not only helpful for the community but are cost effective.
● Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) have been implemented in numerous police departments across the nation and have been successful at helping individuals with mental illness transition out of their temporary
crisis, reducing violence, repeated calls, and costs for jailing the mentally ill.
● In Seattle, the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program has successfully provided housing for low-level drug offenders in turn giving them a second chance of recovery with a set foundation and saving the taxpayers thousands of dollars. Per month it costs $396 to house an individual compared to
● In Utah, the Housing First permanent housing program has been implemented, reducing homelessness in that state by 72% and costs by tens of millions of dollars.
I ask you to please support and implement these critical programs in our city. It is the responsibility of ALL OF US to help those in challenging life circumstances like myself and to do so in the most financially responsible way.
So now you know the gist of the message.
So I finally got a response by Senator Feinstein. Here it is. Uncut.
Thank you for writing to express your support for the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program. I appreciate hearing from you, and sincerely apologize for the delay in my response.
In 2004, Congress passed the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (P.L. 108-414), which created the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP). Administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, this program seeks to better address the needs of mentally ill offenders by supporting projects designed to increase cooperation between law enforcement and mental health professionals. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 allocated $8.25 million for JMHCP for Fiscal Year 2014. This represented a $750,000 decrease from the program's Fiscal 2013 funding level.
You will be pleased to know that on April 11, 2014, I joined several of my Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Chairman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL) of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies , requesting funding for programs authorized under the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act. For your convenience, I have enclosed a copy of the letter.
The President's Budget proposes $8.25 million for JMHCP for Fiscal Year 2015, the same amount that was approved for the program for Fiscal Year 2014. Please know that, as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have noted your support for this program and will keep it in mind as the Committee makes funding decisions regarding programs that assist individuals in the criminal justice system.
Once again, thank you for your letter. I hope you will continue to keep me informed of your opinion on issues that matter to you. Should you have any additional comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841.
I did not write supporting the JMHCP, whatever the hell that is. I wrote SPECIFICALLY about adopting Housing First on a nationwide basis. I said NOTHING about mentally ill offenders!
Here is what I figure: not one Senator, Congressperson, City Councilperson, Mayor...NO POLITICIAN ever reads a letter from you. You are not a concern. I don't care if it's a letter from the Kochs themselves, THEY. NEVER. READ. THEM! What happens is that someone...Bob from Accountemps or a Kelly Girl/Boy/Trans/Whatever, scans through these things...or worse a computer does, scans for key words, and sends out responses based on those key words. See, they respond. No not really.
This is why writing to these bastards and bitches does not work. They don't listen. Neither do marches, protests....you can die on the Capitol steps. And they do not care. None of them.
In fact, the only reason to vote anymore.....and you MUST vote...is to keep the bad bastards and bitches from taking office, even if it means voting in bastards and bitches who are bad but not as bad and the guy or gal you are trying to keep from getting into office.
And I know what you are saying: "I'm tired of choosing the lesser of two evils." Too f**king bad. Because until we are infected with an epidemic of a virus that grows intelligence, or until we choose information sources based on getting information and not agreeing with our own stupidity (GOD, how correct is that Gruber guy...and not in the way you think), nothing will change.
And that means nothing WILL change.
God, save me from my own people.....
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