Democrats Don’t Imprison People for Mental Illness
Here at Milwaukee Beagle, we think there’s utility in giving even the most morally bereft, psychotically moderate Dem power player a point when they occasionally do something right. And even our closest, most reliable allies should be held accountable when they fuck up. With that, we bring you Democrat Dos and Don'ts: a weekly-ish feature highlighting the good dogs/gallants/ballers and the bad dogs/goofuses/scrubs in (mostly!) Milwaukee politics.
Democrats Do Spend Public Money on Actual Public Services
Another faultline has recently opened up in the maybe too big, big tent Democratic Party (imagine the fault line is opening up under a circus –this metaphor is actually really good, shut up.) On the one hand, you have reasonable, empathetic people who understand that the unhoused and housing insecure among us deserve dignified treatment, kindless –and housing, if it’s wanted.
On the other hand, you have slick, deadeyed ghouls like California Governor Gavin Newsom, a proud, hateful, gleeful destroyer of unhoused encampments. And a powerful, rising Democrat with intellectual and political allies across the country –even in Milwaukee, sadly.
Some local context is important here. Milwaukee County has recently improved its services to unhoused people, largely because of the adoption of a “Housing First” policy towards providing those services. Housing First aims to be what it sounds like: “The Milwaukee County Housing First philosophy provides housing to those most in need without pre-condition.” Of course, that’s more of an aspiration than a reality –and there’s still the threat of police/state violence whenever someone interacts with a government program.
That said, Housing First has been reasonably successful, if your goal is to house people with a minimum of abuse: the County is actively adapting more housing for unhoused people’s needs, including permanent housing options. There seems to be a basic understanding that traditional shelters –where people are often crowded together in unsafe, uncomfortable, inhumane conditions– aren’t ok or acceptable. Housing First is a relatively good system, but much more needs to be done, especially in terms of “wraparound care” that helps unhoused folks adapt after housing is provided.1
This would not have happened without an aggressive push by organizers and their progressive allies on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors.
We also have to give some credit to current County Executive David Crowley and his privatization-loving predecessor Chris Abele, who supported and advanced the Housing First model. When pressured to do so, Crowley does sometimes allow investments in preventing homelessness, developing affordable housing (although, often, this looks like handouts to developers), and securing new kinds of emergency housing that supplement and could potentially replace old, outdated models.
Democrats Don’t Imprison People for Mental Illness/Addiction
In November 2022, then Supervisor Ryan Clancy and still Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez pushed to reroute County Sheriff funding to “free transit, the opening of pools and park bathrooms, elimination of library fines, and basic needs for adults and children in the Jail, House of Correction and Vel Phillips Center,” to no avail.2 This was based on clear, compelling public demand to spend less on policing and more on… well, actual services.
Their suite of proposals included something called “post-booking stabilization,” or “PBS,” intended to prevent people with mental illness and addiction from being permanently harmed/traumatized by the criminal justice system. These folks are three to six times more likely to be incarcerated than typical members of the general public. And, as any thoughtful adult knows, jails and prisons are not suitable environments for treatment and rehabilitation. (Another reason not to force Milwaukee Public Schools to host cops again, despite the panicked urgings of Mayor Cavalier Johnson and some Republican Senator from Watertown. Schools should not be treated like pre-detention centers for students who are presumed to be dangerous.)
Why do we know that PBS would work in Milwaukee County? Because it already has. In 2019, the MacArthur Foundation awarded the County $2.3 million for a program that provided actual services to people with mental health conditions rather than incarcerating them at the Milwaukee County Jail. Why is the program not still being funded? Because the MacArthur folks relied on the metric of “empty beds” –that is, were there fewer people locked up at the end of the program than the beginning? And although this successful program did get many folks services and assistance instead of confinement, the County quickly refilled those empty beds with other bodies, as judges continued making sentencing decisions based on the capacity of jails and prisons. So, although it was successful, the system’s willingness to lock up other folks ultimately led to funding being cut.
While Supervisor Clancy is, sadly, no longer on the County Board, there are still County reps trying their best to stem the endless, increasing flow of funding to armed agents of the state.
Newly-elected Supervisor Justin Bielinski is working with Supervisor Martinez to more wisely redirect unused funding that was specifically provided to help incarcerated or jailed people recover from COVID. They’re proposing to put $2 million of these leftover American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) funds towards the PBS program described above.
In contrast, Supervisors Patty Logdson, Willy Johnson and newly elected Supervisor Sky Capriolo voted in committee to dump that funding into the widening gyre that is the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office budget deficit. There will be another, final chance to fix their mistake at an upcoming meeting on Thursday, September 19th, but it’s an uphill battle.
Logsdon and Johnson are known quantities, elected officials who regularly vote to protect police from consequences and to punish anyone who runs afoul of the criminal justice system. Capriolo is already making clear who she stands with –and she should be ashamed of herself. We encourage her to speak more with advocates for PBS and hope she’s acting out of ignorance, not malice.
In the meantime, our only chance to fix this mistake –since there will be no additional chance before Thursday’s so far agendaless meeting of the Board of Supervisors– is to convince our County Supervisors to vote to amend the proposal to redirect these ARPA funds away from the County Sheriff and towards post-booking stabilization.
Go here to find your MKE County Supervisor and their contact information.
If you need one, you can use this script to talk to your Supervisor’s office or send them an email (personalize it, modify it, or make up your own)! You can also leave your phone number –it sometimes helps to push a staffer or their elected boss to speak to you directly:
I’m <your name>, and I live at <your address>. That means that <your County Supervisor’s name> is my county supervisor and I’m their constituent. I’m disappointed but unsurprised that Milwaukee County is set to once again dump funding into our unaccountable County Sheriff’s office instead of a program that would offer detainees the chance of real rehabilitation and care. At your upcoming meeting this Thursday, September 19th, I urge you to amend the proposed use of leftover COVID relief funding to instead fund PBS, or post-booking stabilization. That leftover funding was intended to reduce harm and it should still be used that way.
_________________________
We invite you to read this interview with Eva Welch of Milwaukee’s Street Angels.
