Are you tired of living in a state with low quality health care, poor worker's rights, abysmal long term care rating, high infant mortality, high gender wage gap, low quality environmental standards, and with majority of elected officials listening to the wealthy and not the majority of the people?

Join us at the People's Assembly highlighting Low Wage Worker's struggles in relation to living wage, health care access, women's rights, voting access, environmental justice, and more.

Greetings!

You are receiving this invitation to participate, because you have a passion for justice on behalf of those who are in the margins of society.

With a possible April 20^th City-Council vote regarding the new $1.75 Billion Criminal Justice Center proposed by the mayor, we need to rally as many voices from the community to speak up.

Will you please review the information below, and join us in the fight redemptive opportunities versus the continuation of mass incarceration?

Thank you in advance for your consideration, and for also passing this information on to your groups. It is critical that we have a say in how this new prison will be structured!

 

 2015 Redemptive Justice Campaign

Our views:

 

1. No New Beds- In 2014, Indianapolis had the 17^th highest incarceration rate worldwide, while nationwide crime is going down. Many in our jails are non-violent offenders, detained immigrants, mentally ill, and/or those waiting for trial- while their family is collapsing back home. We don’t need to keep building more and larger prisons. There are alternatives to jail for low-level offenders.
2. C.B.A.(Community Benefit Agreement)- A portion of  the funds from the new prison should go toward mental health services, re-entry programs, and programs proven to reduce violence.
3. Local Hire- Crime is primarily rooted in poverty. Many Indianapolis residents live at/below the national poverty level. A certain percentage of the workers who will build the new prison should be locals who need a job that pays a livable wage.
4. Delay Project- until all pertinent details are worked out and the public fully informed

 Upcoming actions:

-          March 26^th - 6:30 p.m. at North United Methodist Church(E. 38^th and N. Meridian Street) – gathering to mail, call, email City-Council members and to discuss our agenda for the April 9th gathering

-          April 9^th- 6:30 p.m. at TBD – meeting with City-Council members and city leaders to express our concerns in person

Related news article/media:

-          http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/14/weighing-scales-justice-center-bargain-boondoggle/70239308/   

-          ‘The New Jim Crow’- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gln1JwDUI64