Memphis United

www.smartcitymemphis.com

Call your State Senators TODAY, and urge them to vote AGAINST SB1407!
The TN State House of Representatives just passed HB 658 (SB1407) that would limit communities’ ability to decide how to hold law enforcement accountable, denying voters the option to grant police oversight boards subpoena powers to produce evidence and testimony from police departments.

"Memphis has a Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board, but it has only indirect subpoena power through the Memphis City Council. The bill is not expected to affect that process, though it would stop the board from being able to gain that authority, something board members have said they need."

House panel approves police oversight bill despite Memphis lawmakers’ opposition - The Daily Memphian The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee passed legislation this week stripping the subpoena power of police oversight committees, sidestepping opposition from Memphis legislators.

**Please Share With Your Contacts**
"The TennCare program (Tennessee’s healthcare safety net) is seeking federal approval to change who is eligible for TennCare. If approved, most parents between the ages of 18-65 who have school age children will have to report to the state each month and document how many hours they worked, or they will lose their TennCare coverage.

The federal comment period on this proposal is open until February 7, 2019. We are collecting comments and want to hear what you think about these proposed changes, and how they would impact the people you serve, your community, or you and your family."

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GCBMSK5

Proposed TennCare Changes Survey Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

As the JJP organizing coordinator, Faith Pollan received the 2018 Volunteer of the Year award from Juvenile Court

The Juvenile Justice Project works to reduce recidivism amongst young people with court ordered community service. We create relationships throughout the city to provide service opportunities that include education, vocational skills, leadership training, and more! We are dedicated to building a youth led movement.

"We’ve never had an incident like this before,” Bonner said. “Some issues came up and the children were rebelling. They were being juveniles.”

Maybe we should listen. Maybe if we dared to listen to the experiences of youth or see things from the perspective of young people caught in the criminal justice system instead of simply dismissing their actions at "being juveniles," maybe we'd be rebelling too.

Unfortunately there is concerning lack of information about what led to the "disturbance" and according to a statement from the Shelby County Public Defender:
“Our office has been trying to find out where the young people we represent are being held. We are not getting answers. We are very concerned.”

Five officers suspended after disturbance at juvenile detention center - The Daily Memphian The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said a disturbance that resulted in $3,500 to $5,000 in damages at the juvenile detention center led to five corrections officers being suspended last week.

Commissioners want more Juvenile Court reforms after DOJ report discussion - The Daily Memphian Shelby County Commissioners reiterated more reforms are needed at Shelby County Juvenile Court after discussing a Department of Justice monitor’s report that concluded the agency is “deeply flawed” and enables “a culture of intimidation” in due process procedures.

Tami Sawyer accepting the HAPPY JONES award for Grassroots Activism on behalf of honoring the grassroots work of removing the confederate monuments in Memphis at the 36th anniversary of MSPJC, last March.

MSPJC celebrates the work of the grassroots activists who made this happen. Their crucial contribution to this community victory cannot and should not be ignored or be allowed to erased.

MEMPHIS, TN - March 10, 2018: Mid-South Peace and Justice Center's 36th Living the Legacy of Non-Violence Gala with keynote speaker Rosa Clemente.

Please continue to help us make those calls, your voice makes a difference!

4 WAYS HOW YOU CAN HELP FIGHT SLUMLORDS, TODAY.

We REALLY need your help.
From Pendleton to Serenity to Goodwill Villages to Madison Towers and in many others, the state of our HUD subsidized apartment complexes is an outrage and a shame to our community.

We need your help today to push for part of a broader solution.

Please call Mayor Strickland's office at 901-636-6000 and tell his office that we

1. Need more Code Officers for Memphis. Currently the 20th largest city in America has only 30-35 total number of officers. We need at least 15-20 more, to work on weekends or add a night shift to meet the need and we need them this year.

2. As a City Councilman Mayor Strickland passed a RESERVE CODE OFFICER ordinance, which would allow city residents to be trained and deputized as Code Officers. This program, despite being created by the Mayor is not currently active. We are asking that the training be restarted so that we can recruit tenants in our worst complexes to work with code to quickly and easily identify problems on the premises. We stand ready to work with the City on this matter.

3. Please call Congressman Cohen's office at(901) 544-4131 and please tell him that the conditions at PENDLETON PLACE APARTMENTS at 1780 Pendleton St, Memphis, TN 38114 are beyond negligence and please ask him to call on HUD for an 100% inspection of the property.

4. Please call Senator Lamar Alexander office at Please call Congressman Cohen's office at (901) 544-4224 and please tell him that the conditions at PENDLETON PLACE APARTMENTS at 1780 Pendleton St, Memphis, TN 38114 are beyond negligence and please ask him to call on HUD for an 100% inspection of the property.

Every single call will make a difference.

RED ALERT-PLEASE SHARE!!
Call the Mayor's office at 901.636.6000 and urge the City of Memphis to take action. PLEASE READ AND MAKE THE CALL.

From our friends at STEELE PENDLETON formerly known as the Pendleton Place Apartments.

What does this mean for the future of justice involved youth in Shelby County?

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2018/10/19/department-justice-closes-agreement-shelby-county-juvenile-court/1700088002/

Department of Justice ends oversight of Shelby County Juvenile Court The Department of Justice and Shelby County entered into the agreement in 2012 to address deficits in the county's juvenile justice system.

MSPJC publishes "KNOW YOUR RIGHTS GUIDES" which gives clear information on your rights when encountering law enforcement in ENGLISH AND SPANISH and also includes information when encountering ICE.

MSPJC staffer Lauren Faith Pollan has just since July 1st has conducted KYR workshops of over 1500 students all across Memphis and still going strong.

This is the type of work we do everyday and we need your support. We hope you will make a donation to ensure this work continues.

Memphis United: Know Your Rights Guide This bilingual booklet, produced by Memphis United in 2015, includes detailed information outlining individuals' rights

"Zero-tolerance disciplinary policies establish a troubling symbiosis between schools and detention facilities by easing the escalation of misinterpretations of normal childhood behavior into criminal activity that must be controlled."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/10/10/american-tradition-caging-children/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.06d09176b7eb

Perspective | The American tradition of caging children The United States has a longstanding history of criminalizing children and their behaviors.

It took officer 5 HOURS to show up after bullets were fired into her home.

https://wreg.com/2018/10/10/woman-says-she-waited-five-hours-for-police-after-shots-fired-into-home/

Woman says she waited five hours for police after shots fired into home She screamed at the dispatcher but still got no results until around 8 Wednesday morning, when an officer finally pulled up.

“The greatest determinant of whether or not a kid will be locked up in the future is if he’s been locked up in the past,” Guzman said.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/juvenile-justice-lead-exposure-adhd_us_5bb250a7e4b0343b3dc2e8c8

He's 12, Has ADHD And His Family Is Fighting To Keep Him From Juvenile Detention Cesar Gaspar faced five years in juvenile detention for bringing a pocketknife to school. Many other kids exposed to lead face similar fates.

https://thecrimereport.org/2018/10/05/would-a-resentful-justice-kavanaugh-derail-juvenile-justice-reform/

Would a Resentful Justice Kavanaugh Derail Juvenile Justice Reform? The furor over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s alleged sexual misconduct as a 17-year-old raises questions about how he would rule on key juvenile justice cases, a John Jay College conference was told Thursday.

"Led by Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the administration has taken a tough line on crime, saying it wants to send more criminals to prison for longer periods of time."

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-agency-shifts-website-tougher-stance-juvenile-crime-n916371

Children as ‘offenders’: Trump admin website talks tough on youth crime The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention website has slashed references to treating and rehabilitating young people.

Shelby commissioners, Lee Harris move on juvenile court oversight Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and the County Commission are tackling Department of Justice Oversight of juvenile court.

"The truth is many arrests are for non-violent offenses," says Wade, a juvenile court magistrate.

"The trauma induced by the arrest and booking process far outweighs any legal consequence that that child will face," Wade told the school board last month."

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/09/10/mental-illness-child-arrests-metro-nashville-public-school-police-passage/1012290002/

A mother's saga: School, police, arrests and a son with mental illness

"Of the 2 million young people touched by the juvenile justice system each year, between 65 percent and 70 percent have a mental health disorder."

https://www.insidesources.com/teens-have-it-tough-why-are-we-making-things-harder/

Teens Have It Tough; Why Are We Making Things Harder? – InsideSources Being a teenager is the worst. For teenagers, everything is changing — both physically and emotionally. Moreover, these young people are confronted with

to last week at Memphis Business Academy! We had a great time teaching students their rights with our interactive Memphis United: Know Your Rights Theatre. Let us know if you want this great workshop at your school

Open Juvenile Justice Project meeting today! Meet us at Huey's Southwind to discuss the situation at Kirby High School, community service opportunities for our teens, and more!

https://midsouthpeace.org/2018/08/29/upcoming-jjp-partner-meeting/

Upcoming JJP Partner Meeting! Mark your calendars! The next Juvenile Justice Project Partner Meeting is coming up Wednesday, September 12 from 12 -1PM at Huey's Southwind ( 7825

"Make no mistake about it: Cash bail has always been a tool of coercion, used disproportionately against people of color, in order to extract guilty pleas in exchange for freedom. It is also a key driver of mass incarceration. Pretrial detention accounts for virtually all of our jail growth in the past 20 years. The human cost of this crisis cannot be overstated."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/2018/08/30/california-law-risk-assessments-bail-justice-system-policing-usa/1043956002/

Cash bail must be eliminated, but 'risk assessments' aren't the tool to do it

"On Aug. 14, the school received a perfect score on the inspection.

Some parents believe something has to have been missed in the report because the rats and snakes have been in the school for some time."

KIRBY SCHOOL RATS, SNAKES: Shelby Co. school closed due to rodent problem got perfect score on last health inspection Students and faculty won’t be returning to Kirby High School for the third straight day. 

https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/courts/article_05d1eaae-a195-11e8-b468-fb86e528bc83.html

New Orleans becomes first city in South to axe court fees for delinquent youths Concluding that they do more harm than good, Orleans Parish Juvenile Court has abolished court fees for juvenile delinquents.

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/government/county/2018/07/18/shelby-county-eyes-54-m-juvenile-detention-and-assessment-facility/796224002/

Shelby County eyes $54M juvenile detention and assessment facility

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/local/2018/07/17/shelby-county-wants-doj-oversight-juvenile-court-end/788870002/

Shelby County wants out of Juvenile Court MOA; monitor say oversight should continue

Despite statewide investigations of the heinous conditions in Florida juvenile facilities, the young people held there continue to face human rights abuses. Keep in mind that our own sheriff, police chief, and mayor have talked throughout the year of trying to model our juvenile detention facilities after Florida.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/07/16/a-teen-was-sexually-assaulted-in-a-juvenile-facility-while-a-staffer-watched-police-say/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.9ed32776fa52

A teen was sexually assaulted in a juvenile facility — while a staffer watched, police say Authorities say Antoine Travell Davis, a former staffer at a juvenile facility, egged on a group of teenagers to sexually assault a 15-year-old.

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/local/2018/07/12/shelby-county-election-court-clerk-candidates/764583002/

Juvenile Court clerk is the race to watch in Shelby County's August election

The truth of what the program is really about comes from the mouth of former Senior Probation Officer Debbie Waddell, who said, “what we’re really doing is using this program to get them into the system by fingerprinting and photographing them. We can search their homes any time we want and work to obtain evidence against them so that when we can get ‘em, we can really get ‘em!”

https://www.theroot.com/lawsuit-seeks-to-stop-punitive-and-ineffective-law-enf-1827497527

Is This a Youth Diversion Program or School-to-Prison Pipeline Feeder System? Prior to a few years ago, I had never heard of a preschool student being suspended from school. The idea made no sense to me. How could a 3-, 4-, or 5-year-old child who is still learning the basics of sitting still for more than five minutes at a time possibly learn anything from such a punitive ac...

https://jjie.org/2018/07/11/black-girls-must-be-included-in-d-c-s-juvenile-justice-reform-efforts/

Black Girls Must be Included in D.C.’s Juvenile Justice Reform Efforts Black girls are arrested at a rate 30 times that of both white girls and boys. They are also most often pushed into the deepest end of the system — comprising 97 percent of girls newly committed to the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services — even though they pose no threat to public safety...

https://thecrimereport.org/2018/07/10/theyre-not-monsters-the-roots-of-young-girls-violence/ #

‘They’re Not Monsters’: The Roots of Young Girls’ Violence The violent behavior of some teenage girls is often both shocking and puzzling to observers. But studies suggest their actions are closely connected to the trauma and victimization they experience in early childhood.

“We want to do the Know Your Rights workshops to build a relationship with youth and get the information into the hands of the person that other young people are going to talk to, which is other young people.”

https://tri-statedefender.com/know-your-rights-mid-south-peace-justice-seminar-hits-home/06/28/

Know your rights! Mid-South Peace & Justice seminar hits home | TSDMemphis.com EducationMetro MemphisPoliceKnow your rights! Mid-South Peace & Justice seminar hits homeBy Special to TSDMemphis.com - 06/28/201880The Know Your Rights seminar held Monday at Douglas Community Center – and sponsored by the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center – was a mix of improvisational skits ...

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-drinan-juvenile-justice_us_5b2d5673e4b00295f15c6b0f

Opinion | Outraged By Kids In Cages? Look At Our Entire Juvenile Justice System. The disturbing practice of separating children from their families isn't limited to migrants.

http://wglt.org/post/deadly-force-when-powerful-guns-and-young-men-collide

Deadly Force: When Powerful Guns And Young Men Collide Jody Gardner and Reggie Hart Jr. went to visit 17-year-old Chris Harrison on a Wednesday night.

https://www.wired.com/story/ice-is-everywhere-using-library-science-to-map-child-separation/

'ICE Is Everywhere': Using Library Science to Map the Separation Crisis Scholars at Columbia University organized a six-day “crisis researchathon” to try to answer one question: Where are the children?