NEW ORLEANS — The Youth Justice Advocates and Reproductive Justice Action Collective (ReJAC) released the following joint statement in response to City Council’s attempt to allocate $2 million towards digital surveillance of young New Orleanians:
“Education, opportunity, connection, and care keep us safe. When our young people’s basic needs are met, and they’re given the opportunity to learn and pursue their passions, they thrive.
For too long, our elected leaders have siphoned off indispensable resources from our schools and public services, and instead fed the machine of mass incarceration—breaking up families, severing vital community ties, and fueling violence.
The City Council’s attempt to pour $2 million into ankle monitoring is just one more instance of our leaders abandoning the things that make us safe—safe and affordable housing, good jobs, and ample opportunity—in favor of continued investment in carceral systems. The only thing ankle monitors and increased surveillance are proven to do is increase the risk of reincarceration. We demand our elected leaders scale up their investments in proven ways to increase safety including, but not limited to, guaranteed income programs like the one piloted by the Rooted School and the Opportunity Pass which provides free transportation for young people so that they can pursue employment or participate in afterschool programs. ”
About the Reproductive Justice Action Collective
The Reproductive Justice Action Collective (ReJAC) is a New Orleans network that aims to share information, resources, ideas, and human power to create and implement projects in our community that operate within the reproductive justice framework.
ReJAC envisions a world in which all are able to access reproductive health care without judgment and with dignity; have free access to accurate health information, resources, and organizing opportunities in their communities; and have a space to organize about issues that are important to them.
Learn more about the Reproductive Justice Action Collective at www.rejacnola.org/
About Youth Justice Advocates
The Youth Justice Advocates (YJA) are a coalition of organizations and community members committed to and working with children in New Orleans’ schools, communities, and justice system. They created the Platform for Youth Justice to offer a better way – one where we invest in supporting kids who are struggling instead of locking them up. Initially developed for the 2020 District Attorney and judicial races, we continue to use the Platform to hold our elected officials accountable and make our vision for a safer and healthier New Orleans a reality. Learn more about their work here.
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