Our collective voice is working! There is progress on our three issues of interrupting gun violence, increasing the percentage of youth receiving civil citations instead of arrests, and providing affordable rental housing for very and extremely low-income families.

CAJM is working with the Commission on the Status of Men and Boys along with other groups on gun violence interruption. CAJM will support the national evidence-based program that is selected for funding by the City Commission.

The state civil citation program provides that children under the age of 18 who commit a misdemeanor can go into a diversion program rather than be arrested. CAJM has met with the Tallahassee Police Department, the Leon County Sheriff’s Department, and with Jack Campbell, State Attorney, to discuss ways to increase the issuance of civil citations.  Campbell revised the Memorandum of Understanding with law enforcement to increase eligibility for civil citations.  CAJM will likely move to monitoring data, intervening if there are questions or a downward trend in the percentage of civil citations given.

CAJM has met with city and county elected officials and Blueprint staff to find ways to fund affordable rental housing for very and extremely low-income households. At the August 24 Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency Board meeting, the Board directed staff to bring back a proposal to address CAJM’s proposal to fund a $25 million incentive program to increase the numbers of new rental units set aside for very and extremely low-income households. Since then, the CAJM Affordable Housing Committee has met with Blueprint staff on October 5 to discuss the upcoming staff report to the Board. Staff anticipate the Board will have to take a series of actions that likely will stretch into February 2024.

In other action, the Leon County Commission approved a $35 million bond issue to construct 156 rental units exclusively for low-income and very low-income families.

CAJM has raised awareness of these problems. Effecting change through the political process will take patience and perseverance. CAJM needs to persist until effective solutions for these problems are established.