On Dec 15, thanks to a tremendous 2-year fight by a great coalition of mass incarceration opponents, advocates for mental health and housing for all, LGBT groups, groups fighting killings by police, some unions, and some prisoner groups, the SF Supervisors unanimously voted against spending hundreds of millions to build a new jail and for providing services instead. The Supes postponed action on accepting an $80 million jail construction grant from the State, hoping (probably futilely) that the State will allow SF to use the money for services. The Supes did vote to buy the land originally intended for the new jail; we need assurance it cannot be used for any jail construction.

Now the fight enters a new phase: making sure that the right services for mental health, housing, jobs, and our other needs are provided. In rejecting the jail, the Board voted to send the funding ordinances for the jail back to its Committees to determine how the money could be used for alternatives to imprisonment, presumably directed by the Public Health and Sheriff’s Departments.

We want to expand that input to include homeless advocates, other mental health providers, and returnees from prison and jail. We need to stop the endless revolving door between homelessness and jail. We need a greater variety of mental illness and substance abuse treatments; one size does not fit all. We need inpatient treatment for the severely mentally ill that lasts beyond Medi-Cal’s treatment limits. We also need real community input for bail reform, alternative court systems, and alternatives to incarceration for those convicted. Our coalition has experts and resources who have been in these fields for years, and we plan to be active in these discussions.

Most of this involves long-term planning, but some of these decisions may be made quickly, so please stay tuned and come when needed.