Sabha, Tamer
Subject:FW: Public Safety/ Affordable Housing, Prevent Violence From:Julie McKune
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2022 11:22 AM
To: Sabha, Tamer <[email protected]>
Subject: Public Safety/Affordable Housing, Prevent Violence Re: Public Safety Committee Mtg
Tuesday, May31, 2022. @3pm. (Agenda items #1A, 1C, IE- Budget Workshop- FY 2023 Dear Mayor Gordo & City Council Members, (Hampton, Kennedy, Madison) My name is Julie McKune and my family are Pasadena residents, I'm a retired public school teacher, grandparent of 2, from District 2.
Fiscal Year 2023's Recommended Operating Budget again appropriates zero General Fund Dollars to our Public Health Department.
Pasadena can and must do better. Soon.
I agree with Councilmember Williams that every effort must be made to secure maximal grant funding for appropriate programs and services. I also concur with Vice Mayor Wilson that major steps must be taken to analyze health-related programs run by other departments that would have improved efficacy under the Public Health Department's domain. Mayor Gordo, I recognize that Pasadena's Public Health Department is unique and would benefit from greater County and State funding contributions.
However, in order to live up to our Public Health Department's vision of being the model of health excellence and community wellness, it is essenf/a/that we adequately and reliably invest in our Public Health Department with General Fund money.
Former City Manager Steve Mermell stated, "I do foresee a time when we'll need to put general fund dollars into the health department... I'm hopeful, through the pandemic, that people start to realize that we can't take public health matters for granted." Councilmembers, that time is now.
I call upon the Public Safety Committee and City Council, at large, to modify the Recommended Operating Budget to increase General Fund Dollars to cover the cost of Public Health approaches to Violence Prevention and Homelessness.
1) Appropriate General Fund Dollars to Public Health Approaches to Violence Prevention.
Violence is a Public Health Crisis. Victims of violence do not just suffer from direct physical injury and loss.
Studies show that they also have increased rates of psychiatric illnesses, like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and medical illnesses, like cancer.
1 According to the CDC, living in a community experiencing violence is also associated with increases in risk of developing chronic diseases, as concerns about violence may prevent some from engaging in healthy behaviors, such as walking, bicycling, using parks and recreational spaces, and accessing healthy food outlets.
Violence scares people out of participating in neighborhood activities; limits business growth and prosperity; strains education, justice and medical systems; and slows community progress.
Violence is a leading cause of death and nonfatal injuries among adolescents and young adults.
Studies show that Public Health models for violence prevention work. They are safe, affordable and effective. They save lives and save cities millions of dollars.
Despite 85 million General Fund Dollars appropriated to the Pasadena Police Department (PPD) last year, many Pasadena residents continued to be traumatized by violent crimes.
Meanwhile, zero dollars from our General Fund were invested in our Public Health Department, according to the Fiscal Year 2022 Operating Budget, and we had no Public-Health-Model Violence Prevention Program because of an expired grant.
Councilmembers, when will your actions align with your statements about striving for a safer Pasadena? I urge you to modify the Recommended Operating Budget to appropriate General Fund Dollars to our Public Health Department to cover the cost of a long term, evidence-based, non-police-affiliated Violence Prevention Program that will actually help create the Safer Pasadena that we all desire to see.
Please stop putting our community's safety in the hands of grants that come and go.
I don't feel safe when Unhoused community members struggle with mental health issues and experience trauma/tragedy. Prevention is a cost effective solution. Please listen and take bold action now, not small increments.
Sincerely,
JulieMcKune (she/her)
District 2
My family and I recognize that Pasadena sits on the ancestral land of the Gabrielino-Tongva Indian Tribe. (Hahamongna)
2