-Jarret Keith, ARC Community Member

When the Board of Parole hearings, appointed by the

governor, told me that I was no longer considered a

public safety risk and was free to return home, I

wanted to start fresh and give back. But then I was

prevented from supporting my community at the ballot

box. I felt like I didn’t have a voice, like I didn’t

matter. As someone who worked as a full time life

coach for men and women navigating re-entry, I know

that I’m not the only person who feels that way.

-Dominique Davis, ARC Community Member

If it weren’t for the programming offered

because of Propositions 47, 57, and AB

109, I may have continued on a vicious

cycle of crime and addiction. They don’t

hand you anything. Instead, these reforms

give you the opportunity to take a

different path. You still have to do the

work, and that’s exactly what I needed.

- Akilah Shands, ARC Community Member

Being on pretrial detention because I

couldn’t make bail actually increased my

likelihood to reoffend. People can lose

everything, like I did— their child, house,

and job. I have sat in jail for over 6 months

for the case to go nowhere and be told it was

dismissed. The bail was set at a million

dollars at the age of 18. It perpetuates an

endless cycle of arrest and incarceration.

Measure J will create opportunities

for youth which were never in place

before. As someone who has been through

our juvenile justice system and is

now an advocate for youth justice,

I can tell you that we are in dire

need of alternatives to incarceration,

and that they make all the difference.

This is the first step in the right

direction to making sure Los Angeles

divests from punishment and invests

in our communities.

-Ronnie Villeda, ARC Community Member