Comments on: Quality-of-Life Court Coming to S.F.’s Civic Center http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/12/07/quality-of-life-court-coming-to-sfs-civic-center/ Just another actlocallysf.org weblog Sat, 17 May 2008 08:43:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.0 by: Jack Bates http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/12/07/quality-of-life-court-coming-to-sfs-civic-center/#comment-828 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:57:19 +0000 http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/12/07/quality-of-life-court-coming-to-sfs-civic-center/#comment-828 This article says that Mayor Gavin Newsom calls this court "an experiment" and I don't blame him. I am proud that our mayor has the courage to "experiment" because what is in place isn't working and without trying new approaches to the problems you won't get any new or better resolutions. www.allaboutthedragon.com<ul><li><label>Overall Rating</label>: 10</li> </ul> This article says that Mayor Gavin Newsom calls this court “an experiment” and I don’t blame him. I am proud that our mayor has the courage to “experiment” because what is in place isn’t working and without trying new approaches to the problems you won’t get any new or better resolutions.

www.allaboutthedragon.com

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]]> by: Pamela Jane Fitzgerald http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/12/07/quality-of-life-court-coming-to-sfs-civic-center/#comment-827 Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:00:52 +0000 http://actlocallysf.org/blog/talkingpoints/2007/12/07/quality-of-life-court-coming-to-sfs-civic-center/#comment-827 This idea of a community-court to address low-level misdeameanors committed primarily by homeless in the Tenderloin area is greatly needed to hold this population accountable for their actions. Unless they are held accountable they will not be inclined to make any significant changes. The importance of justice being 'swift and fitting the crime' is the cornerstone of the criminal justice system along with our Constitution. The problem of homelessness can be solved thru perserverence and good community programs. Also providing resources and hope to this population is important. Having worked with many homeless individuals I believe that giving them hope is one step closer to getting them help. Many of these individuals suffer from low self esteem and have been kept down so long that they don't really know where to turn. Holding someone accountable for their actions also gives them hope in that it forces them to accept responsibility for their own actions and realize that there are consequences to their behaviors. How does this give one hope? When one assumes a sense of responsibility for one's own actions then one develops a sense of self-worth, thus has hope that one can be productive in the society that one lives. Alternatives to the lifestyle need to be provided and by reaching out thru a swift criminal justice system and getting these individuals much needed resources will hopefully provide alternatives. Addressing recidivism is a huge part of reducing criminal activities within a society and at this point we do not have enough programs to do this with. Often juveniles go into the system with a first crime and one would think that this might curb them from committing further crime. Well, if they don't have an alternative to take them from the lifestyle they have grown up with then there is not much hope in this scenario. Often one gets so used to a way of lifestyle that they are unable to change because they know no other way. People must be taught to change behaviors by replacing with new ones and unless there are new ones to replace them with there will not be a lot of change. By holding people accountable this is a start and hopefully a trend will develop within the government here in San Francisco. The Project Homeless Connect is a great help to many people and we need to come together as a community to implement this program on a daily basis for the homeless here in San Francisco and greater Bay Area. We need to each take part in this problem and also take on this burden for individuals that live with much less than we do. This is a tall order for some but everyone can do their part in giving just some time, or money, or something of themselves to help someone in need. The criminal justice system is faulty as well as many programs that depend on the good nature and donations of others. If you have a favorite charity that deals with homelessness then donate money instead of spending it on a zillion worthless gifts this holiday season. If you cannot make a monetary donation then offer your time to go to the homeless shelters and see what you can do to help. Write a letter to someone in a prison and give them hope this holiday season...hope that someone does care about them and that there is help when they leave prison so that they don't return to a life of crime. Yes, it is a big tasks but these problems cannot expect to be solved by one person in leadership or one government alone. The Community Court is just a beginning and a great beginning. It will be successful but it is not the end all. There is much more work to be done and many more problems to fix. The good news is that they are all fixable problems if we all work together to implement change and give a part of ourselves to someone in need. Aloha!<ul><li><label>Overall Rating</label>: 1</li> </ul> This idea of a community-court to address low-level misdeameanors committed primarily by homeless in the Tenderloin area is greatly needed to hold this population accountable for their actions. Unless they are held accountable they will not be inclined to make any significant changes. The importance of justice being ’swift and fitting the crime’ is the cornerstone of the criminal justice system along with our Constitution. The problem of homelessness can be solved thru perserverence and good community programs. Also providing resources and hope to this population is important. Having worked with many homeless individuals I believe that giving them hope is one step closer to getting them help. Many of these individuals suffer from low self esteem and have been kept down so long that they don’t really know where to turn. Holding someone accountable for their actions also gives them hope in that it forces them to accept responsibility for their own actions and realize that there are consequences to their behaviors. How does this give one hope? When one assumes a sense of responsibility for one’s own actions then one develops a sense of self-worth, thus has hope that one can be productive in the society that one lives. Alternatives to the lifestyle need to be provided and by reaching out thru a swift criminal justice system and getting these individuals much needed resources will hopefully provide alternatives. Addressing recidivism is a huge part of reducing criminal activities within a society and at this point we do not have enough programs to do this with. Often juveniles go into the system with a first crime and one would think that this might curb them from committing further crime. Well, if they don’t have an alternative to take them from the lifestyle they have grown up with then there is not much hope in this scenario. Often one gets so used to a way of lifestyle that they are unable to change because they know no other way. People must be taught to change behaviors by replacing with new ones and unless there are new ones to replace them with there will not be a lot of change. By holding people accountable this is a start and hopefully a trend will develop within the government here in San Francisco. The Project Homeless Connect is a great help to many people and we need to come together as a community to implement this program on a daily basis for the homeless here in San Francisco and greater Bay Area. We need to each take part in this problem and also take on this burden for individuals that live with much less than we do. This is a tall order for some but everyone can do their part in giving just some time, or money, or something of themselves to help someone in need. The criminal justice system is faulty as well as many programs that depend on the good nature and donations of others. If you have a favorite charity that deals with homelessness then donate money instead of spending it on a zillion worthless gifts this holiday season. If you cannot make a monetary donation then offer your time to go to the homeless shelters and see what you can do to help. Write a letter to someone in a prison and give them hope this holiday season…hope that someone does care about them and that there is help when they leave prison so that they don’t return to a life of crime.

Yes, it is a big tasks but these problems cannot expect to be solved by one person in leadership or one government alone. The Community Court is just a beginning and a great beginning. It will be successful but it is not the end all. There is much more work to be done and many more problems to fix. The good news is that they are all fixable problems if we all work together to implement change and give a part of ourselves to someone in need. Aloha!

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