Stand with us to advocate for alternatives to youth incarceration!

Our Peace Promotion Momentum Team, alongside County Juvenile Justice Heads and NCRC, established the current Restorative Community Conference (RCC) pilot program in 2014 which is currently available in City Heights, Southeast San Diego, Barrio Logan, Spring Valley, and Lemon Grove zip codes.

RCC is a series of face-to-face meetings, led by a trained facilitator, between a youth who has committed a harm, the person harmed by the youth's actions, and relevant community members. RCC is a restorative justice practice that promotes personal accountability and repairing harm, in place of harmful punishment and entry into the criminal justice system. RCC has proven to lead to lower entry and reentry of youth into the prison system—allowing youth to remain in their communities, with their families, where they can learn, grow, heal, and thrive. 

Our Demand

We are asking the county of San Diego to invest $3 million to make RCC a county-wide resource for young people to avoid the revolving door of incarceration. $3 million dollars is a small price to pay to keep young people out of jail in the long term and in their communities.

We hope you will join us on August 12th @ 5:30 p.m. to reject the proposed county budget until it includes funding to keep youth out of the prison system.

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See the instructions below to submit a written e-comment or to call in. Forms must be submitted before 5:30 p.m on August 12.

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To Submit E-comments 

1. Fill out the form at the link by August 19, 2020, at 5:30 PM https://bit.ly/BOScomment 
2. Select "oppose" because the budget proposal does not include $3million for RCC.
   
3. Ask for a $3 million investment in RCC. Use our sample message to advocate for alternatives to youth incarceration.

Guide for Phone Testimony 

1. Fill out the form to request to speak by 5:30 p.m. on August 12 at https://bit.ly/BOScall 
   • Select to speak on Wednesday, August 12 at 5:30 PM
2. Watch or listen: sandiegocob.com or (619) 531-4716. 
   • Mute the video or hang up the line when public comment begins 
3. Call in, when public comment period begins: 
   • Dial: (888) 475-4499
   • Enter the meeting ID: 898 4274 2046 followed by the # sign. You do not need to enter a participant ID; simply press # again.
4. Listen and wait until you hear “Your phone has been unmuted” to speak 
   • State your name and comment. Comments should be 2 minutes maximum.
   • *If you need an interpreter: when you hear “your phone has been unmuted” say you need an interpreter and wait for the interpreter to join the call. 

Sample Message for Phone Testimony or E-comment    

I stand with Mid-City CAN & Peace Promotion Momentum Team community members to advocate for alternatives to youth incarceration!

I demand that the County of San Diego prioritize the youth by allocating $3 million for Restorative Community Conference (RCC), an alternative to youth incarceration for the entire county of San Diego’s youth population. 

Restorative Community Conference (RCC) is a series of face-to-face meetings led by a trained facilitator between a youth who committed harm, the person harmed by the youth's actions, and relevant community members. 

RCC is a restorative justice practice that promotes personal accountability and repairing harm in place of more harmful punishment and entry into the criminal justice system. RCC has proven to lead to lower levels of recidivism and prison entry of youth, while allowing youth to remain in their communities, with their families, where they can learn, grow, thrive and become contributing members to their of the community. 

$3 million dollars is a small price to pay for a proven program that will keep young people out of jail in the long term. The Sheriff Department budget is nearly $1billion! Our $3million ask is only a fraction of a percent. Please oppose the county budget unless this is included!