Recommendation to receive and file a presentation from Human Relations Commission for Women's History Month.
Motion carries. Thank you very much. Item 27, please. Item 27 is a communication from Councilmember Pier's Councilwoman Gonzalez. Councilwoman Price. Councilwoman Mango. Recommendation to receive and file representations from Human Relations Commissions for Women's History Month. Councilman Pearce. Great. Well, I want to thank our Human Relations Commission for joining us tonight. I believe we have four members that are with us, maybe five members that are going to take today to give us a little presentation on women's history, particularly focused on Long Beach. If I'm correct, I haven't seen the whole presentation, but we have to make sure that we take this time, especially with women in politics with. We've got an exciting announcement at the end of your presentation, I believe, on on another event happening in the month. So I'm going to let you guys take it away and just recognize that women are more than 50% of our population. We must be celebrated. Thank you. Thank you for taking my taking my first line. Of course. Good evening, Honorable Mayor Garcia, city council members and of course, the esteemed city staff. And I want to thank this civically minded town for the turnout that has happened this evening. And I hope we can brighten your moment for the next 15 minutes or so. And let let this get back to you all. I would first like to, of course, thank the women of the City Council for bringing this forward and allowing us to be here tonight to talk a little bit about the state of women. We're going to do this in 15 minutes. So we are not going to even touch a little on what we really should be talking about. But we're going to give you four interesting topics tonight to think about exactly what Councilmember Pearce said. 51% of our population in the last census was women. If you look around this room, I've had enough time to be here. 65% of this room is women tonight. And and and women really have a big part of what we do here. Obviously, with four council members being women, it changes how things are looked at in in the whole city. We at the at the Human Relations Commission are excited to bring Women's History Month to the city in this very small way tonight. The purpose of the HRC is to promote full acceptance of all citizens in the community, in all aspects of community life. In 50 minutes, of course, we're not going to get to all citizens. But tonight we would like to share four interesting topics about women in our city. And those topics tonight will be domestic violence. We'll talk also about restorative justice. We'll be talking about homelessness and we'll also be talking about politics and the women leaders that we've seen come through our city. I'm very excited to have three of our commissioners here this evening, as well as we've brought in the women's shelter of Long Beach. They've come in on the last minute to help us with the domestic violence piece. So I'd like to first introduce to you Alexis Sandoval from the Women's Shelter of Long Beach to talk a little bit about the next topic. Good evening, Mayor Garcia. Council members and fellow community members. My name is Alexis Sandoval, and. I'm here to share brief information. About domestic violence on behalf of women's shelter of Long Beach. So domestic violence is an issue that. Affects everyone, regardless. Of their gender identification, socioeconomic. Status, religious background. Sexual orientation and so. Forth. However, women are much more likely. To be victims of. Intimate. Partner violence. With 85% of domestic violence victims being women and 15% men. Too many women. Have been held captive by domestic violence. Whether through physical abuse. Financial abuse, emotional abuse, mental abuse, sexual abuse, religious abuse, digital abuse, or a combination. Of these. On nationwide, three women are murdered every day by a current or former male partner in the U.S.. 50% of lesbian women were experienced domestic violence in their lifetimes. One in four women will be victims of severe violence by an intimate partner in their lifetimes. Over 30 million women have experienced physical, intimate partner violence in their lifetimes. These statistics make it evident that domestic violence is an issue that affects the entire nation. But how does it affect Long Beach? According to the US Census Bureau, the population of Long Beach in 2016 was 470,130. Taking into account that one in four women will be a victim of domestic violence, this means that nearly 117,532 women in Long Beach alone may have been victims of domestic violence. Furthermore, since 2014, women's shelter of Long Beach has served nearly 8000 Long Beach residents. Their direct client. Services, outreach and. Education and adult and youth prevention programs. These numbers make it clear that domestic violence is a community issue that can only be eliminated through increasing awareness and making a collaborative community effort. Though we also be working towards this end through hosting. Awareness, raising events in the community and. Educating youth at local middle schools, high schools and college campuses. In addition, WCB also partners with the Long Beach Police Department, California State University, Long Beach, and other local. Organizations and service. Providers. Thus far, our efforts to eliminate domestic violence have had an impact on the lives of many. In the words of a domestic violence survivor and former WCB client Jennifer Barbosa, the support of women's shelter of Long Beach and my community helped me leave a life of hurt and violence behind. I now live a life full of joy, love and empowerment. I now have the knowledge and skills necessary to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. Stories like Jennifer's show that as a community, we are working towards taking steps in the right direction. Thank you so much for your time. And I will now introduce Kimmy Mannix from obviously. S.J., who's in a speak on restorative. Justice. Good evening, Mayor Garcia and Councilmembers Kimmy. Monique is from CCE. Jane, also human relations commissioner for the Sixth District. I'm honored to be able to talk a little bit about restorative justice tonight. I know that restorative justice is kind of a buzzword that gets thrown around. And so I wanted to give you all the opportunity to just hear like a one on one and how restorative justice is being used in our communities here. So to begin, I'd like to share this quote from Frederick Douglass that says, It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. And I would say, actually, people this is a central believed to the tenets of restorative justice. We want to build communities that are trauma informed, that center relationships, that provide alternatives to punitive responses and the harmful impacts that they have on people and offer opportunities for healing. To give an overview of what restorative justice is, restorative justice is a practice and a philosophy modeled from the traditions of First Nations people to prevent and address homes and grow strong communities. We use relationships as a foundation for this work and utilize a needs based framework when intervening in harm to create true accountability. If you look at the current ways that we respond to homes and crimes, our default is that we rely on punitive practices for the most part. Typically, a punitive approach asks What was the crime? Who committed the crime, and what punishment is warranted? And restorative justice model asks us to shift this paradigm and actually think deeply about who was harmed. What is the impact of the crime and the resulting needs and obligations that need to be met to make it right? So in short, harms, means and obligations. In this model, we're able to settle the needs of victims or people, people harmed and impacted community members to come to a place of true accountability for the responsible for those responsible for creating the harm. And so what does this look like in practice? So restorative justice models are being in. Implemented in a number of settings and are showing tremendous results. So in schools, we're using restorative justice to create communities that value relationships, that respond to behaviors in ways that are trauma informed, that keep students in school rather than suspending and expelling people and offer ways for youth and adults to be accountable to one another when conflict and harms occur in the juvenile justice setting. Restorative justice is used to divert youth away from a path of incarceration and system involvement to explore true accountability and uncover what the underlying needs are that may have contributed to any given offense. Families and community members are able to find healing with this process. And you think, given an opportunity to learn about the impact of their behavior on others and grow from their mistakes in communities, restorative justice and restorative processes are used to mediate conflict, to provide resolution to homes, to strengthen relationships, and to identify needs that community members need addressed. And so the connection to women, there are many connections to women, but I think the one that I'll touch on is that, as we well know, the burden that women carry when members of the community are removed because of incarceration or any removal from the community is a larger one. To bear a reliance on punitive measures in response to harms and crimes create more broken men, more broken people, rather than building strong children. And so women take on the emotional and actual physical labor, a feeling in the massive gaps when people are removed from communities. And in the case of children who are removed from communities due to incarceration or system involvement, women again serve in this crucial role in their children's lives to be the ones to take on the additional labor of repairing harm that our system is creating for our young people. So while this just scratches the surface, I encourage for us to do a deeper dove into what restorative justice means for our community. Many connections to actually the prior presentation around domestic violence as well, and many things to explore with regard to community safety. So thank you. And I would like to bring up my fellow commissioner, Jill Ferraro, to talk about homelessness. Good evening. Mayor Robert Garcia, City Council members thank you. It's always a pleasure to come in speak especially on behalf of something I'm very passionate about. Go here. Homelessness. So those four concepts that you're or those four terms you're seeing up there, housing, compassion, relationships and hope creation. I want to bring up the fact that without housing, which we all know about, we're hearing a lot about without compassion and without building relationship with those in our community who are experiencing homelessness and without hope creation. We are not going to help homelessness, and especially women with women in our community who are experiencing homelessness. The Department Health and Human Services have a homeless count that you can get this information from. But we're looking at female right now, 28%, male 71%, transgender 1%, and those who do not identify as well up there . But the reality is 28% is something we get in a homeless count. We also see in our homeless. Count of. 2017 from the Department. Of Health and Human. Services, some populations of unsheltered adults on their numbers were serious mental health illness for 51 substance use disorder 315 Victims of. Domestic violence 141. I wanted to bring up some stats, but I also want to bring up an amazing person to have permission to speak on her behalf this evening as permission. Sandra Greenman, who I met in my advocacy work working with our our homeless, those experiencing homelessness in our community, as well as all the different organizations. I her story is that she's a vet. She was in the Navy. US vet is where villages. Of Korea was, where she started to get her. Recovery and assistance from. But she served in our military and and she ended up homeless. The reality. Of what Sandra did. Thereafter was amazing. She comes from a background of domestic abuse, rape. Many different things that occurred in her. Background. As early as 16 years of age as a teenager. She went into the military, came out, ended up homeless, living in her car. So this is an example of someone who was living in her car who we probably wouldn't have got on the homeless count because she's living in a car. She didn't appear homeless. She took care of herself. She's military, very clean cut, very disciplined. However, she was still homeless. She ended up at the villages of Rio, where she began her recovery. And lo and behold, she has been four years clean. She has been a mentor. She's been working at the VA and she is as happy as can be, although she does have her days where I'll get a phone call or text. The reality of this story I bring up is because of this, even though we do have these numbers and we do want to take these numbers into consideration, by all means, we do have people in very vulnerable situations that are either on the brink of homelessness. But we do need to remember as well those who are poor. Those who could be poor with just one one family member losing a job. And with those reality the reality of that, I just want to make sure that. Not only do we remember and be inspired by people like Sandra. But to all of you out there, women and those who those of you who know women, which is everybody in here, there's a preventative part to homelessness. And that preventative part is to grab your sister, your mother, your neighbor, anyone female and that one in for domestic abuse that she was talking about. You make sure you also provide a support system, a mentorship. Because that's how this is going to get better. And so as much as you come up here and you gripe and you point your fingers at these people up here, have a civil conversation with them, meet with them, and then meet with your neighbors and also supply support there. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. All right. We are going to move on to the last topic of politics, and I want to say thank you to Carlos opinion, who is our District two legislative lead. She's been very busy all night, wandering around, taking care of the people in this room and has asked me to read through her slides. But I appreciate her taking the diligence to put this together for us. You know, women have come far in politics. We've seen a rise of strong advocate women who have fought for the freedom and equity of our nation. Over 500 women are running for office right now. This year alone, Long Beach has had and continues to have women who have shown leadership in advocating and inspiring, inspiring many young girls that someone just like them can make a difference in our city. Thank you to the council women that are here today who do that every day in their own districts. And I would be remiss if I didn't also say, of course, Eunice Sato and Beverly O'Neal, she was Beverly O'Neal was the president of my college when I was in college. And she really reminded me when she became mayor that we can be whoever we want to be. We have some amazing women, African-American women in this town. And when you're given 3 minutes to talk about a topic Carla really wanted to highlight these women. So the women you see in front of you, I don't need to read each of these for you, but of course, Bobbie Smith I would like to speak to, because she was the first African-American woman to serve as a Long Beach school board member. Back when I was going to school board meetings every week with my mom and learning about how to be an advocate for this community. I also love to bring up Vera Mulkey. She was a great example of being the first African-American chief of staff to city council member back when Clarence Smith was here. And of course, Doris Topsy Alford. I mean, we speak of her all the time. She's amazing woman. First African-American woman to be elected to the Long Beach City Council. And these women have all had not only great lives in the city, but have spent time really advocating for humans, for everyone in this community. And tonight, we really want to celebrate all the women who have and continue to be involved in Long Beach politics. And we don't mean politics as in only being a city councilperson, but politics and advocating for the things that are right and just for the for this community and for this world. These women and many more have been and are the pillar of our community. They are the women that have fought for our voices to be heard, to be taken into consideration and have brought change to Long Beach. I really want to thank you all for having us here tonight. This is, again, just a brief snippet of information about women in this city. And much of it was brought to us because they're topics that the community have brought to the Human Relations Commission to talk about at our monthly meetings. And we appreciate all of that advocacy that people are doing here in the city. The last thing I want to leave you with is women in the city are doing amazing things. You know, I could sit here and talk about artists in the city for hours, but something that's happening just next week on Friday night is T with Alice and me with another one of our commissioners, commissioner, Zoe Nicholson, who'll be doing her one woman show at the Beverly O'Neill Theater nicely enough here in town. And we would love to invite everyone to come. And if you would like a ticket for this great event. Many of the local politicians have helped to get free tickets for this event. Please find us up at the top at the end for this. And again, thank you to the council for giving us the time tonight. Thank you. Thank you very much, Councilman Gonzales. I was going to just close it out real quickly and say one of the reasons we brought this up was because this month we have International Women's Day and it was a day to celebrate and honor the women that continue to build this country and to build the world to be a better place. And I needed to recognize that the Human Relations Commission and many of the people in that commission have been there for me in my hardest times. My new chief of staff, Dina, sort of on days, obviously, Carla and my colleagues on this council, you know, have really reminded me in times that have gotten tough that we. Stay with it. So that we can prove that tomorrow is going to be a better day for women, that it's going to get easier, and that we're going to have a more a deeper conversation around what what equity looks like and what having an equal voice looks like. And so I just want to recognize and thank all those that came before us and those that spoke tonight. So thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman Gonzalez. But thank you to Councilmember Pearce for bringing this forward. And thank you, all of you ladies, for for making a really good, comprehensive report. I really love looking back at Long Beach and seeing what we've done and what we've been so successful at. But of course, as this is like the year of women, this could not be more timely in looking ahead to see what we have to do to be a little bit better. Not a little bit a lot better. A lot, much more. We have a lot of work to do. And I know that I served with some really incredible women here, and I'm really proud of this city for all the women sitting out there. It's right. You don't have to be a city council member to try to do some incredible things. And we hope that every one that's here really took this to heart and we can see even more forward. Thank you. Councilmember Wawrinka. Thank you for bringing this report forward. I remember a quote. I don't remember who said it, but it was the best thing that a father can do for his children is to love his wife. And I think that having a wife that is very understanding and having my daughter, who I have a daughter, see that relationship between me and my wife, I think she learned a lot in terms of what to expect from men and what to expect in relationships. When she would go out with a with a young man. I had many a conversation with some young men mentoring them in terms of how to treat my daughter. First of all, do you have a driver's license or do you have insurance? Just as an example. But I think that when it comes down to the treatment of women and we saw the stats that were so awful up there, is that sometimes, you know, we have to break that cycle and it's a cycle. And we as men sometimes have to take the lead ourselves and say we're going to break that cycle and be good to our women, be good to humankind, to people in general. Because when you're carrying two people, you're kind to everybody and everybody will benefit from your kindness. So I want to congratulate the Human Dignity Commission for bringing this forward. I hope we get a report every year. I think that would be a wonderful addition to our to our history Women's History Month or week every year to see how we're doing. And hopefully we can bring some of those stats down and make them a lot, a lot more acceptable. And we don't have to cringe every time we hear those awful statistics. Thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing. Thank you. Councilmember Andrews. Thank you, Vice Mayor. I don't know where that quote came from, but I think that was his own quote because I think it was a great quote. A lot of this I think it shouldn't have to be what we call it. On women's history. When I think should be women's every day should be a woman's mind. Because the fact that you guys this is what it's all about, you know, without you, you know, we caused by a man's world. But it would be nothing. Not what? That woman. So thank you, young women, for having this man. And we appreciate it so much. Thank you again. Thank you, Councilman Austin. Thank you. And I want to thank you for the presentation as well. It was a lot of very good, I think relevant information are presented here. Our Union Human Relations Commission does a wonderful job and I had an opportunity to meet with them a couple of months ago, maybe a few weeks ago, actually, and the time all comes together. But I'm very impressed with the work that you are doing and the impact that you're making on our city. I think that has a lot to do with the the makeup of this council. This I think there's more women on this council than ever before in history. I'm proud to serve with a number of very, very strong and competent women on the city council. And I think this is appropriate. The woman who had the most impact on my life was my mother. I think she raised me to be a very fair minded, strong young man. And today. Would have been her 68th birthday. She passed away two years ago. And so when we commemorate strong women, I think think about my mother every every single day. And I try to live my life as an example that she will want me to live by. So thank you very much for your presentation today. Thank you. And I'll just I'll just add that thank you to the presentation for scheduling this presentation. Thank you to the Human Relations Commission. I think it's important that we do recognize the contributions of folks. But I also think what stood out here and you know, and we see a bunch of recognition, but what stood out was really the highlighting the vulnerable folks in our society and really letting this moment serve as a call to action that we have to continue. You know, the thoughtful, data driven presentation that really calls us out and says we have to be about the business of rooting out oppression wherever it exists. And that and that we have a responsibility, frankly, to really look out for one another. And so I hear you. And I would encourage, you know, whenever we have these sorts of presentations, leave something for us to work on. Because, you know, I saw a lot of relevant things connected to a lot of the issues that, frankly, we're dealing with tonight. So thank you. Is there any public comment on this presentation? In raising your name. For the record, please. Larry. Good work because the address in writing to support this I do so from a rather. Unique perspective as circumstances would have it, though unfortunately I was unable to meet her in her later years because of her declining health. I had a great aunt. Excuse me. Who was this nation's first first lady. To graduate with a four year college degree. She did so parenthetically prior to meeting my great uncle. And went on to become one of the most outstanding. First Ladies. This country ever had. The timing of it, of course, it was equally unique. It happened. In the thirties. At which time the Fix the San Gabriel the sink, the fix these families Saint Gabriel Land Development Company, which was the paradigm by which they granted certain lands to the city of Long Beach, was, which were subsequently fashion into what became the reading stadium. Specifically warranted. The city attorney will tell you it's ethically warranted. The city to enter into an agreement with the then secretary of war. My great uncle. For the purpose of. Protecting the special Egis. Of. What would become potentially along these Marine Stadium and precluding it from falling into the hands of the likes of Robert Garcia. Gary DeLong. And the newest commissioner on the Coastal Commission. He has a far from dry dream of becoming of turning that into a a labor force where he would become the labor force for that and so forth. But it's specifically warrants to city to go in and protect. If those. Facilities. And of course, as I pointed out before, the U.S. attorney by the end of the year will be dealing with the criminally complicit. Based upon the records provided by the highly credible then Long Beach police chief, now L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonald. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Good. You see no further public comment, members, please cast your vote. Okay, we've got one more. Our last public comment speaker. Oh, here we go. Just about the presentation. I think you and I have seen so much suffering happen because women had. To stay in relationships that were not good for them, but they had no place to go. And I have seen so much potential snuffed out. I have seen so much trauma in kids. Because that relationship. With that, you know, they were. They they had no financial independence. You know, this man who was abusing them was their only way to keep. A roof over their heads. And I cannot applaud what you're doing. Like more the fact that you're. Giving them a chance to get out of situations. Where their lives are at stake and their mental health is at stake is absolutely incredible. And I would even you know, I think it'd be really cool if we worked together or we. You know, there. Was a project to keep pushing for women's economic independence because. Financial abuse in relationships is not something that a lot of people are even aware of. Happens. But it's a very frequent tactic of control. And the more the women are. Economically. Empowered and the more that they have control over their own assets, the less vulnerable, you know, obviously they're going to be to predatory partners. And I think that I think that we use something really, really cool to work on. It's just an idea that came to my head. But thank you for your presentation and thank you for the work that you're doing. Thank you. Members, please cast your vote. I mean. Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Item number 15, please.