Summer Outreach to #CutShutInvestNY
This week, we are doorknocking across Manhattan and Brooklyn to speak with community members about the ongoing crisis at Rikers Island. The conditions at the massive jail complex are horrific and life-threatening, both for for the people incarcerated and those who work there.
Last year was one of the deadliest on record for the city’s jails and the numbers are on track to be even worse this year. The Adams administration has failed thus far to seriously address the problems at Rikers, leading to growing calls for a federal takeover. The ongoing crisis underscores the urgent need to shut down Rikers.
In the face of this crisis, we are calling on the mayor, lawmakers, judges, and district attorneys to CUT the number of people held on Rikers, SHUT down the Rikers Island jail complex, and INVEST in real community community safety: housing, health care, education, jobs. To learn more, check out our #CutShutInvestNY fact sheet.
If you would like to get involved in the fight to close Rikers, please reach out to Melanie Dominguez at melanie@katalcenter.org.
Tues July 12th: #LessIsMoreNY Info Session
Join us on Tuesday, July 12 at 6pm for a #LessIsMoreNY info session with Circles of Support, a Harlem based group focused on supporting formerly incarcerated people returning home from NYS correctional facilities. We will share updates about the impact of the #LessIsMoreNY Act thus far and what’s next in the implementation process. Register here to attend.
To learn more about our upcoming #LessIsMoreNY events, reach out to Melanie at melanie@katalcenter.org.
New Katal op-ed: Community Supervision and Working Together to Make Change
Almost 4 million people in the United States are under some form of “correctional” supervision in the community: probation, parole — or in the federal system, community corrections and supervised release. Every year, millions of them are sent to jail or prison not for a new crime, but for violating the conditions of their supervision — breaking or allegedly breaking a rule like missing an appointment with a parole officer or using alcohol or marijuana. In this new op-ed op-ed, Katal co-executive director gabriel sayegh discusses the perils of community supervision, both for his own family and more broadly across the U.S. Check out the Check out the op-ed here, and let us know what you think.
Katal Quotes of the Week
These are some of the quotes we’re thinking about this week.
“Let this radicalize you rather than lead you to despair.”
–Mariame Kaba
“Fight with hope, fight without hope, but fight absolutely.”
–Mike Davis
For printing and distribution, Katal Weekly Update PDF version.
Katal works to strengthen the people, policies, institutions, and movements that advance equity, health, and justice. Join us: web, Twitter, Facebook! Email: info@katalcenter.org. Phone: 646.875.8822.
