Alameda County Board of Supervisors to order an investigation of deaths in Santa Rita Jail, including a review of the contract with the private medical provider in the jail, Wellpath, which has utterly failed to prevent these deaths of people on intake.Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez and all law enforcement agencies in Alameda County immediately end their deadly practice of arresting and incarcerating people with mental health and substance needs.The Care First Community Coalition demands: Speakers will include Amir Sundiata Rashid of Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland Dorsey Nunn, Executive Director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and Kimberly Graves, Families Advocating for the Seriously Mentally Ill. Organized by the Care First Community Coalition, civil rights groups and families will be holding a vigil and noise demonstration to grieve lives lost and express their solidarity for people still held at Santa Rita Jail. “66 people have died in Santa Rita Jail since 2014 and our elected officials have poured millions of dollars into a jail that continues to kill those who are in desperate need of medical care. “We are calling on Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to take urgent action in ending the practice of detaining individuals with mental health and substance use needs,” said Joy George with Restore Oakland, Inc. Santa Rita Jail, 5325 Broder Boulevard Dublin, CA Seven other people at Santa Rita Jail have also experienced fentanyl overdoses in February alone. ![]() Stephen Lofton, Elizabeth Laurel, Charles Johnson, and Cody Vanburen are beloved community members who were incarcerated and lost their lives in just the first 2 months of 2023, under the watch of the newly elected Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez. Oakland, CA– On Saturday, April 1, at 1:00 p.m., the Care First Community Coalition and families of those impacted by mental illness and incarceration, will hold a vigil and action at Santa Rita Jail to call on the sheriff and county to immediately end the criminalization of substance use and mental illness, and make significant investments in housing and community mental health services. Community & Family Members Rally to Demand ‘Care Not Deaths’ at Santa Rita Jail
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