HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-01-2023_Open Session_Item 18_Kane, Jennifer_RedactedFrom:Jennifer Kane
To:CityClerkDepartment
Subject:Public comment on agenda item #18
Date:Wednesday, February 1, 2023 3:51:33 PM
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Good evening.
My name is Jennifer Kane and work in the City of San Bernardino for the Arts Connection - the
Arts Council for San Bernardino County.
I am unable to attend tonight but am writing in support of the city council taking action to declare a
“Homelessness State Of Emergency.”
We urge the council to use this declaration of emergency to advance real Housing First solutions
and to reject non-solutions that criminalize or punish unhoused people for existing. We want to
further urge you to invest this money in EMERGENCY temporary housing and sheltering that is
accessible to our community with no barriers of criminal history, income criteria, or on citizenship
status. There should be no barriers for our most disenfranchised community members!
We urge the city to focus on housing as the only true solution to the housing crisis and the
most effective form of health care we can provide for the people living on the street –
especially when paired with voluntary health care and services. On the pathway to
providing permanent housing for everyone in San Bernardino, interim solutions must meet
the expressed needs of unhoused community members. These temporary solutions must
offer people the type of safe, private, and dignified place to live that we all would want for
ourselves and our loved ones.
There are many organizations in the city working on these issues and I recommend working
directly with those closest to the communities most impacted in order to best make strides
towardssustainble solutions to housing all folks in our city.
Thank you.
Jennifer Kane
Executive DIrector
Arts Connection
www.artsconnectionnetwork.org
Schedule a meeting with me here
Elevating Arts and Culture in San Bernardino County
Arts Connection is the Arts Council of San Bernardino County, serving the entire county and surrounding areas.
Arts Connection envisions a county that invests in each of our creative communities. A county that supports and
integrates arts-based initiatives into every aspect of our daily lives.