Vail Daily letter: Let’s help each other heal
No doubt Summit County and Eagle County are growing. All of Colorado is growing, and as this article (“Along with population, criminal activity also up,” Aug. 9 Vail Daily) clearly states, with population growth comes a growth in crime. More drug use, more DUIs, more everything. But all is not lost; we are a growing community that is strong and especially supportive of both its citizens and visitors. It’s important that we as a community focus our attention to the resources that we pay as taxpayers, in the right way.
In criminal cases, defendants who are found to be guilty pay for surcharges that are intended to aid the community in paying for the cost of rehabilitation. But the question we need to be asking ourselves is: where are our treatment facilities? Where can one go to get a helping hand? What resources do we have for mental health issues?
As a community we owe it to ourselves to help each other in a time of need. We may be a smaller community, but as we pay the same taxes and we pay the same fines and fees to the courts, we deserve to have the same aid provided to our citizens. We need to demand “restorative justice” and use restorative resources. We need to do it for ourselves, for our children and for the people of this amazing community that we all love and cherish. We are not immune from the problems that plague our country; thus we should not be exempt from having the kind of resources that build our community rather than pulling it down with a justice system that is used to enhance the careers of politicians vs. serve our community.
I applaud the Honorable Judge Romeo, Judge Sullivan and Judge Shames who have taken people’s hands and helped them succeed in programs of drug and DUI courts. They have given power back to our community and the people who appear before them. They have shown love, care and respect for the struggles of life. Thank you. Thank you on behalf of myself, my clients, and the community. Let’s lead by example, by developing the appropriate resources to solve our problems vs. simply addressing the symptoms; let’s support restorative justice before it’s too late.
Sanam Mehrnia
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Candidate for district attorney