With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.
LA activists mount new effort to block mental health jail
More than 150 activists protested L.A. County's plan to build a new mental health jail. They argue the money should be spent instead on community mental health programs.
(
Frank Stoltze/KPCC
)
Activists dragged 100 metal bunk beds off of U-Haul trucks and placed them in the street outside the L.A. County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. They oppose a plan to build a huge jail for prisoners with mental health issues.
(
Frank Stoltze/KPCC
)
Patrisse Cullers is a co-founder of Black Lives Matter. She led Tuesday's protest against a county plan to build a new jail in downtown L.A.
(
Frank Stoltze/KPCC
)
Minorities would be disproportionately affected by L.A County's plan to build a mental health jail, said activists at a Tuesday protest.
(
Frank Stoltze/KPCC
)
Listen
0:49
LA activists mount new effort to block mental health jail
The proposed facility would replace Men's Central Jail. Activists say jail is not the appropriate place to treat people with mental health problems.
It was an unusual scene on Temple Street outside Tuesday’s meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors: 100 grey metal bunk beds were blocking traffic.
They were there as part of a protest against the county’s plans to build a new jail in downtown L.A. for mentally ill inmates. The 3,885 bed facility would replace the aging Men’s Central Jail. The lockup is part of an estimated $2 billion jail expansion project that includes a new women’s jail at the Mira Loma Detention Center in Lancaster.
Long before supervisors first approved the plan in 2015, activists said the money spent on construction and operation should instead go to mental health programs in the community.
Placing people with mental health issues behind bars doesn’t make any sense, said Kim McGill of the Youth Justice Coalition.
Sponsored message
“You’re in a cage,” she said outside the supervisors' meeting. “For anyone that goes in with a mental illness, it [the cage] exacerbates it.”
The vast majority of mentally ill inmates were arrested for a minor offense and should be treated in a medical setting, McGill said.
But sheriff’s officials say they would be able to provide better mental health care in the new state-of-the-art facility, which would be designed for treatment. Supervisors are expected to consider an environmental impact report on the project next month, but it could be 10 years before it opens.
Citing the need for updated mental health beds as the number of inmates with mental health issues rises, none of the five members of the Board of Supervisors has said they’re opposed to moving forward.
Patrissse Cullors of Black Lives Matter admits stopping the project is an uphill battle.
“It is, but no change would happen in America if it wasn’t," Cullers said.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
