A New PATH
Parents for Addiction Treatment and Healing
Executive Director
Gretchen Burns Bergman
Co-Founder
Board Of Directors
Caroline Stewart
President
Anita Simons
Vice President
Lorraine Clayton
Secretary
Donald Stewart
Treasurer
Leah Cotton-Testone
Margaret Dooley-Sammuli
Kelley Gebbie
Rev. Dennis Malone
Julia Negron
Susan Thornton-Zetino
PATH Florida Chapter
Julia Negron
PATH L.A. Chapter
John Whitaker, Dir.
Advisory Board
Dr. David Bergman
Psychiatrist
Dr. Claudio Cabrejos
Psychiatrist
Ken Cilch
President, CRASH, Inc.
Judge Robert Coates
San Diego Superior Court
John de Miranda
NAADD
Steven E. Feldman
Attorney at Law
Dr. Ken Khoury
Psychiatrist
Sylvia Liwerant
Co-Founder
Mick Meagher
Attorney at Law
Dr. Rodrigo Muñoz
Psychiatrist
Dr. Bruce Pevney
Addiction Medicine
Dr. Jerry Rand
Bay Recovery
Whitney A. Taylor
Drug Policy Consultant
Director of Operations
Geni Cavitt
July 6, 2015
Dear Karen Humes,
A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing) submits this comment in response to the Census Bureau’s federal register notice regarding the Residence Rule and Residence Situations , 80 FR 28950 (May 20, 2015). A New PATH urges you to count incarcerated people at their home address, rather than at the particular facility that they happen to be located at on Census day.
A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment and Healing) is a non-profit advocacy organization. We advocate for treatment instead of incarceration for individuals who have been convicted of non-violent drug-related crimes, and for treatment behind bars. Our mission is to reduce the stigma associated with addictive illness though education and compassionate support and to advocate for therapeutic rather than punitive drug policies.
By designating a prison cell as a residence in the 2010 Census, the Census Bureau concentrated a population that is disproportionately male, urban, and African-American or Latino into just 5,393 Census blocks that are located far from the actual homes of incarcerated people. When this data is used for redistricting, prisons inflate the political power of those people who live near them.
Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the Residence Rule and Residence Situations as the Bureau strives to count everyone in the right place in keeping with changes in society and population realities. Because A New PATH believes in a population count that accurately represents communities, we urge you to count incarcerated people as residents of their home address.
Sincerely,
Gretchen Burns Bergman
Executive Director & co-Founder
A New PATH
Lead Organizer of the Moms United to End the War on Drugs Campaign
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2527 Doubletree Road ~ Spring Valley, CA 91978
Phone (619) 670-1184 ~ Fax (619) 670-1184 ~ E-mail: / website: