Fight for a Cause Friday: Reclaim the Block
Several years ago, I lived in the Twin Cities. Every time I went to the grocery store, I drove past the site where Philando Castile was murdered by police officer Jeronimo Yanez. And yet, I did little to confront police brutality or to cast light on the injustices that Black and POC citizens face on a daily basis. By hosting these posts about groups that work to address social justice issues - whether that's through moving city budgets away from policing and toward violence prevention, or through providing better funding for affordable housing, or any of a number of other noble and noteworthy goals - I hope that my one small voice can steer others toward these causes.
Affordable housing generally means that a household does not have to spend more than 30% of its income on housing, ensuring that there is money for other necessities like food and medical care. The State of the State's Housing 2019 report found that more than 25% of the state's residents pay more than they can afford for housing, with a troubling trend of that percent increasing; nationwide, the number is closer to 16%. Having a stable household helps individuals maintain a steady job or attend the same school, gives them the chance to form and keep relationships with others in their community, and reduces stress overall. Providing resources to help people afford the right housing leads to a more stable community and more stable lives.
Addiction can drive people to crime, whether that be theft, altercations leading to physical harm, or impaired driving. Addiction resources address an individual's dependence on substances like drugs and alcohol. What works best varies from person to person. Some people find success with organizations like AA and NA, while others fare better with individual therapy. There are also medications available to help people detox. However, with the exception of groups like AA and NA, many of the resources cost money, and can be prohibitively expensive. Funding addiction resources helps remove the roadblocks to getting clean or sober. This can also reduce an individual's likelihood to run into legal trouble for drug use or possession, which in turn reduces their chances of being denied employment or housing. Addiction is a social problem, and it is something that affects everyone. It should not be viewed as a crime, but rather an issue to be addressed and prevented. People who suffer from addiction need help, not abuse or jail time.
If you had a roof over your head while you were growing up, it's hard to imagine all of the parts of your life that suddenly become uncertain when you're homeless. The Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota estimates that about 6,000 youths in Minnesota are homeless on any given night, about half of whom are in the Twin Cities area. Resources to help homeless youth include emergency and transitional shelters, job resources, assistance with schooling, and anti-trafficking programs, along with so much more. As mentioned in the affordable housing section above, a stable home environment leads to a more stable life. Helping homeless youth invests in the future of the community and ensures that disadvantaged youths aren't left behind. If you're going to say All Lives Matter (which is inherently bullshit on so many levels), then these kids' lives matter too.
Crime prevention programs are a little harder to define; in fact, I had a difficult time finding specific organizations that work with this issue (if you know of any, please leave a comment with a link!). One relatively new program, the Gun Violence Intervention program, was expanded in the Twin Cities in early 2020 with a $300,000 investment. According to the article linked in the previous sentence, the program identifies individuals who are "likely to commit gun violence or be in the middle of a conflict and get police and community leaders to reach out to them." Regardless of the program, the goal is to take note of potential crime before it occurs and take steps to prevent it.
These initiatives, along with many others, are worthy of funding. And with the City of Minneapolis spending almost 36% of its general budget on policing, there's plenty of money to be redistributed.
But Amren, you say, doesn't spending less money on police mean more crime?
Data - cold hard facts - say no.
An article in the Washington Post examined the amount of money spent on policing per capita from 1960 to 2018 and concluded that "more spending in a year hasn’t significantly correlated to less crime or to more crime. For violent crime, in fact, the correlation between changes in crime rates and spending per person in 2018 dollars is almost zero." Further, there's a quote from the report Freedom to Thrive: Reimagining Safety & Security in Our Communities that I found particularly telling:
A note: Reclaim the Block wrote on their website that they have received a lot of funding, and would like to direct future donations to similar organizations listed here.
[Image: Reclaim the Block logo]
Reclaim the Block is an organization founded in 2018. At its core, the organization pressures the City of Minneapolis to divest from the police force in favor of investing in the community. Take a look at this screenshot from the 2020 City of Minneapolis budget (keeping in mind that it was passed in 2019):
The numbers speak for themselves. It's too damn much money. Rather than spending that money on policing, Reclaim the Block advocates for the city to fund community-based initiatives like affordable housing, addiction resources, resources for homeless youth, and crime prevention programs.
Affordable housing generally means that a household does not have to spend more than 30% of its income on housing, ensuring that there is money for other necessities like food and medical care. The State of the State's Housing 2019 report found that more than 25% of the state's residents pay more than they can afford for housing, with a troubling trend of that percent increasing; nationwide, the number is closer to 16%. Having a stable household helps individuals maintain a steady job or attend the same school, gives them the chance to form and keep relationships with others in their community, and reduces stress overall. Providing resources to help people afford the right housing leads to a more stable community and more stable lives.
Addiction can drive people to crime, whether that be theft, altercations leading to physical harm, or impaired driving. Addiction resources address an individual's dependence on substances like drugs and alcohol. What works best varies from person to person. Some people find success with organizations like AA and NA, while others fare better with individual therapy. There are also medications available to help people detox. However, with the exception of groups like AA and NA, many of the resources cost money, and can be prohibitively expensive. Funding addiction resources helps remove the roadblocks to getting clean or sober. This can also reduce an individual's likelihood to run into legal trouble for drug use or possession, which in turn reduces their chances of being denied employment or housing. Addiction is a social problem, and it is something that affects everyone. It should not be viewed as a crime, but rather an issue to be addressed and prevented. People who suffer from addiction need help, not abuse or jail time.
If you had a roof over your head while you were growing up, it's hard to imagine all of the parts of your life that suddenly become uncertain when you're homeless. The Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota estimates that about 6,000 youths in Minnesota are homeless on any given night, about half of whom are in the Twin Cities area. Resources to help homeless youth include emergency and transitional shelters, job resources, assistance with schooling, and anti-trafficking programs, along with so much more. As mentioned in the affordable housing section above, a stable home environment leads to a more stable life. Helping homeless youth invests in the future of the community and ensures that disadvantaged youths aren't left behind. If you're going to say All Lives Matter (which is inherently bullshit on so many levels), then these kids' lives matter too.
Crime prevention programs are a little harder to define; in fact, I had a difficult time finding specific organizations that work with this issue (if you know of any, please leave a comment with a link!). One relatively new program, the Gun Violence Intervention program, was expanded in the Twin Cities in early 2020 with a $300,000 investment. According to the article linked in the previous sentence, the program identifies individuals who are "likely to commit gun violence or be in the middle of a conflict and get police and community leaders to reach out to them." Regardless of the program, the goal is to take note of potential crime before it occurs and take steps to prevent it.
These initiatives, along with many others, are worthy of funding. And with the City of Minneapolis spending almost 36% of its general budget on policing, there's plenty of money to be redistributed.
But Amren, you say, doesn't spending less money on police mean more crime?
Data - cold hard facts - say no.
An article in the Washington Post examined the amount of money spent on policing per capita from 1960 to 2018 and concluded that "more spending in a year hasn’t significantly correlated to less crime or to more crime. For violent crime, in fact, the correlation between changes in crime rates and spending per person in 2018 dollars is almost zero." Further, there's a quote from the report Freedom to Thrive: Reimagining Safety & Security in Our Communities that I found particularly telling:
While many community members, supported by research and established best practices, assert that increased spending on police do not make them safer, cities and counties continue to rely overwhelmingly on policing and incarceration spending while under-resourcing less damaging, more fair, and more effective safety initiatives.People don't feel safer when more money is spent on policing. Communities are not safer when more money is spent on policing. Ergo, money should be divested from policing and reinvested in the community. In addition to the resources mentioned above, moving money from police budgets could instead improve social services like public transportation, infrastructure, and libraries. It's a matter of investing in the community. We may not see results next week, or next month, or even next year, but it's the long term that we have to think about now. Short-term knee-jerk reactions - like shooting an innocent man five times - are no longer acceptable. We are a community, and we have a responsibility.
A note: Reclaim the Block wrote on their website that they have received a lot of funding, and would like to direct future donations to similar organizations listed here.
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