I am emailing you to ask that you stand with Contra Costa County’s most neglected communities and support funds for critical services and programs that would ensure a more just and equitable County! I am asking you to fund a study into the development of an African American Holistic Wellness & Resource Center to provide our Black ​​residents a hub that provides healing services and focuses on the issues that negatively impact the African American community. In light of the police scandal in the City of Antioch where those in charge of “protecting and serving” described Black residents in deplorable ways, the absence of a center that focuses on providing resources and support to address the hardships experienced by the African American community are clear. We are asking for a minimum of $80,000 to fund a study into the development of a Wellness Center, which would serve as a space for our Black neighbors to support one another while healing and strengthening the African American Community! The second ask is for you to support a minimum of $5 million to fund Tenant Legal Services and Rental Assistance out of the County General Fund. We need Tenant Legal services to address increasing evictions and inequity in the courtroom. The recent Court Watch Report showed only 7% of tenants are represented by an attorney while 86% of landlords have attorneys. Worse yet, 41% of tenants going to eviction court are Black even though Black residents make up only 16% of the Contra Costa County population. We are asking for a minimum of $5 million to fund legal assistance and rental assistance programs for tenants who are facing homelessness. This will slow down the homelessness crisis and ensure a Contra Costa where everyone has a chance to stay housed. The County has not invested in new funds for long-term and comprehensive Tenant Legal Services since 2020 through the CARES CDBG. The contract for those services has since expired. It is time we invest in renters to address the growing homelessness and eviction crisis! The final ask is to stand in support of our undocumented neighbors, who are a backbone of our communities, and allocate a minimum of $1.8 million to fund Stand Together Contra Costa and provide critical legal services for our immigrant community. We are seeing large numbers of deportations happening in our communities. These are hard-working individuals who have committed no crime. They are seeking a better future for their children in the United States. Every deportation means a child being separated from their family because of immigration status. Without legal support immigrant families with open deportation cases are guaranteed to lose their cases - unless we as a community step in to help! With the upcoming opening of an Immigration Court / Deportation Center in Contra Costa County the LEAST we can do is invest a minimum of $1.8 million to ensure that families that abide by the law and contribute to their communities have a fighting chance to stay with their children. Please stand on the side of racial justice and of families, and fund: a African American Holistic Wellness & Resource Center, Tenant Legal Services, Rental Assistance and Stand Together Contra Costa to provide legal services for our immigrant community. Our Black and Brown neighbors deserve to live in a Contra Costa that shows they are welcomed here.

I am emailing you to ask that you stand with Contra Costa County’s most neglected communities and support funds for critical services and programs that would ensure a more just and equitable County! I am asking you to fund a study into the development of an African American Holistic Wellness & Resource Center to provide our Black ​​residents a hub that provides healing services and focuses on the issues that negatively impact the African American community. In light of the police scandal in the City of Antioch where those in charge of “protecting and serving” described Black residents in deplorable ways, the absence of a center that focuses on providing resources and support to address the hardships experienced by the African American community are clear. We are asking for a minimum of $80,000 to fund a study into the development of a Wellness Center, which would serve as a space for our Black neighbors to support one another while healing and strengthening the African American Community! The second ask is for you to support a minimum of $5 million to fund Tenant Legal Services and Rental Assistance out of the County General Fund. We need Tenant Legal services to address increasing evictions and inequity in the courtroom. The recent Court Watch Report showed only 7% of tenants are represented by an attorney while 86% of landlords have attorneys. Worse yet, 41% of tenants going to eviction court are Black even though Black residents make up only 16% of the Contra Costa County population. We are asking for a minimum of $5 million to fund legal assistance and rental assistance programs for tenants who are facing homelessness. This will slow down the homelessness crisis and ensure a Contra Costa where everyone has a chance to stay housed. The County has not invested in new funds for long-term and comprehensive Tenant Legal Services since 2020 through the CARES CDBG. The contract for those services has since expired. It is time we invest in renters to address the growing homelessness and eviction crisis! The final ask is to stand in support of our undocumented neighbors, who are a backbone of our communities, and allocate a minimum of $1.8 million to fund Stand Together Contra Costa and provide critical legal services for our immigrant community. We are seeing large numbers of deportations happening in our communities. These are hard-working individuals who have committed no crime. They are seeking a better future for their children in the United States. Every deportation means a child being separated from their family because of immigration status. Without legal support immigrant families with open deportation cases are guaranteed to lose their cases - unless we as a community step in to help! With the upcoming opening of an Immigration Court / Deportation Center in Contra Costa County the LEAST we can do is invest a minimum of $1.8 million to ensure that families that abide by the law and contribute to their communities have a fighting chance to stay with their children. Please stand on the side of racial justice and of families, and fund: a African American Holistic Wellness & Resource Center, Tenant Legal Services, Rental Assistance and Stand Together Contra Costa to provide legal services for our immigrant community. Our Black and Brown neighbors deserve to live in a Contra Costa that shows they are welcomed here.