The COVID-19 virus may not discriminate, but people do. Since the start of the global pandemic, there have been at least 2,800 incidents of anti-Asian hate crime reported and many more left unreported.

npr.org/2021/02/12/966… Like much of the racism in our country, these hate crimes are not new or isolated. They are a part of a history of discrimination and oppression - from the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act to the National Origins Quota Act.

Public safety begins with public health. As I’ve long made clear, we cannot arrest our way out of a health and resource crisis. People who suffer from homelessness, substance use disorder, or mental illness are not debris; they cannot be “swept” away. 1/ Investing resources in evidence-based solutions isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do. Clearing the streets will not clear up the underlying problems, and in the end will cost us more money and more lives. 2/