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Latino Health Access <br />LATINO 450 W. Fourth Street, Suite 130 <br />HEALTH Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br />ACCESS 714-542-7792 <br />www. latinohealthaccess.org <br />3. Allocate increased funding for an additional staff person at the City's WORK Center and youth <br />jobs within City Government that are accesible to undocumented Youth. <br />4. Allocate increased funding for youth service programs within areas in City Hall and not within <br />the police department, such as those that can provide young people with access to skill <br />development, recreation, and housing. <br />Context Police Oversight: <br />Over the last two years, a majority of this Council has voiced support for the creation of a Police Oversight <br />Board in Santa Ana. While the Council's Police Oversight Ad -Hoc Committee drafts a policy proposal the <br />council must allocate funds to properly fund the Police Oversight Board. The Council allocated $141,082,500, <br />or 40%, of the 2021-22 Fiscal Year General Fund to the Santa Ana Police Department. The estimated annual <br />cost for an effective investigative -auditor model for police oversight is less than 2% of the annual Police <br />Department budget. <br />Context Youth Funding Priorities: <br />Over the Fall of 2021, Chispa, Latino Health Access, Project Kinship, Invest in Youth, Alianza Translatinx, and <br />Santa Ana Youth Ballot held a series of focus groups in Santa Ana to hear from young people ages 14-25 about <br />the youth services they need and current services they receive through their school, city, or community <br />organizations. These focus groups revealed that young people want to see the programs and services listed <br />above prioritized for funding. Historically youth services have been chronically and systemically underfunded. <br />The Council must increase youth investment to improve public safety. <br />Members of the Council have continuously expressed a strong desire to continue improving safety by <br />addressing root causes and investing in residents' material needs and well being. Latino Health Access believes <br />that the recommendations outlined above achieve these goals by supporting the City's community partners to <br />provide mental health services, counseling and preventative services, jobs, and recreational activities. We urge <br />you to adopt these recommendations in the first reading. These resources will provide a foundation for <br />the City's young people to thrive. <br />Sincerely, <br />Y `— -In /--I; -> <br />Nancy Mejia, MPH, MSW <br />Chief Program Officer <br />nmej iaglatinohealthaccess.org <br />PREVENTION EDUCATION ACTION <br />