Ginger Sharpe is a Certified Peer Support Worker and an advocate for change. She gave this speech at End Mass Incarceration Day at the Roundhouse during the 2024 Legislative Session.   

Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests, and fellow advocates for justice, thank you for gathering here today at the legislative building in Santa Fe as we raise our voices for change. 

Every day, countless individuals in our state are needlessly incarcerated for offenses that can be better addressed through alternative methods.  

I stand before you not just as a speaker but as someone who has experienced firsthand two of the broken systems we are here to address. In being a Certified Peer Support Worker (CPSW) that means that I have lived experience and in my lived experience I have been both Incarcerated and I spent five years unhoused and am currently unhoused as I am speaking to you today.  

First and foremost, I want to draw attention to a deeply flawed criminal justice system and ending mass incarceration. Every day, countless individuals in our state are needlessly incarcerated for offenses that can be better addressed through alternative methods. This incarceration not only affects the people being incarcerated but their families and children as well. I will never forget the call when I was on probation six years ago that my probation officer forced me to make telling my daughter that due to a technical violation I wouldn’t be coming home that day. The devastation in her voice echoed in my head for a year that I had to sit and finish out my sentence.  

Situations like mine are why we must shift our focus from punishment to rehabilitation, investing in proven services such as substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery services and educating people that these services are available. It's time to break the cycle of incarceration and empower individuals to rehabilitate and reintegrate into society as productive healthy people and members of our community.  

"Situations like mine are why we must shift our focus from punishment to rehabilitation."

Now, let's shine a light on another broken system – our housing crisis. The unhoused population, often unfairly blamed for property theft and petty crimes, is struggling to survive. The stringent requirements for obtaining housing vouchers – coupled with the lack of affordable housing and landlords discriminating against those with past evictions or criminal backgrounds – create insurmountable barriers.  

I speak from personal experience when I say that hopelessness becomes a paralyzing force. We need to reform these systems, not perpetuate cycles of homelessness, unemployment, and despair. We must advocate for policies that provide real opportunities for the unhoused to regain stability, employment, and motivation to make lasting changes in their lives. That’s the only way to solve the issue of the unhoused population.   

As we address these broken systems, we cannot merely dwell on the problems – we must also be ambassadors of change, advocates for solutions. In this legislative session, where budgetary decisions are paramount, I propose a shift in priorities. Instead of funneling money into new technologies for law enforcement, let us invest in education – the cornerstone of our future. Our children deserve resources and support to thrive in a safe and nurturing environment. 

We must advocate for change, raise awareness about available resources, and collectively work towards a more just and compassionate society.    

Moreover, we can repurpose funds towards refurbishing abandoned buildings into affordable housing. By doing so, we offer stability to the unhoused, enabling them to return to work and support themselves and their families. It's time to redirect taxpayer money towards initiatives that foster compassion, understanding, and sustainable solutions.  

In conclusion, I implore each one of you to care deeply about our fellow human beings, our community, and our children. Let us not lose sight of our shared humanity. We must advocate for change, raise awareness about available resources, and collectively work towards a more just and compassionate society.  

Thank you for your time and let us leave here today with a renewed commitment to care for one another, to actually help each other not just ourselves, and strive for a better future. Thank you again.  

Vanessa Hulliger is a founding member of Stronger Together, Never Alone, a support group for parents of incarcerated youth. She gave this speech at End Mass Incarceration Day at the Roundhouse during the 2024 Legislative Session.  

I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to tell my story. I want to tell you a little bit about my son Noah. Noah was always very bright and did extremely well in school. He started playing football at 8 years old. He was not naturally athletic and lacked confidence. He made up for it with his intellect and hard work. He grew to love the game and became quite good.  

Noah’s biological father struggled with substance abuse and mental health issues. He was in and out of his life. This affected Noah more than he is willing to admit. 

In February of 2020, Noah transferred to a new high school where he met a new group of friends. We noticed a change in Noah not long after the pandemic shut down the schools. His grades began to drop, he became more defiant, going out with these new friends and not obeying curfew. 

Over the next couple months this escalated to experimenting with drugs and alcohol, making decisions that were out of character and becoming more withdrawn. We attempted to get him into therapy, we were put on a waiting list. A few months later he was finally able to see a therapist but was quickly referred to another who specialized in pediatric drug abuse. He was placed on another extremely long wait list. His drug experimentation quickly turned into addiction. There were limited resources for children, lots of waiting lists and what I felt was nowhere to turn for help. 

There were limited resources for children, lots of waiting lists and what I felt was nowhere to turn for help. 

On October 29, 2020, at 9:13 pm, I received a call that forever changed my life. I was informed by medical staff that my 17-year-old son had been shot and I needed to come immediately. I walked in and saw my Noah barely conscious. I was able to kiss him, tell him I loved him and to keep fighting before they rolled him back for emergency lifesaving surgery. He had been shot 4 times. He suffered a collapsed lung, broken ribs, internal bleeding and fractured pelvis. My world completely crumbled when I found what had occurred that night. He had been involved in a drug deal that turned into a shootout where another was fatally wounded. 

On December 8, 2020, Noah was 17 years old, halfway through his junior year of high school and now facing serious adult charges. Two years and two trials later Noah was convicted and sentenced as an adult to 29 years in the Department of Corrections.  

The past three years have been nothing short of a nightmare for my entire family.

December 8, 2020, was the last time I was able to hold him longer than three seconds, hold his hand or touch his beautiful face. He will be in his late 40s when I can do it again, even though he was a child who made the worst mistake of his life. 

The past three years have been nothing short of a nightmare for my entire family. We continue to struggle mentally, financially and at times physically. Noah has two younger siblings. They have had to transfer schools and are receiving therapy to try to cope with the trauma they have endured. I have a daily battle with anxiety and depression. How do I continue to raise my younger children with the intense fear this can happen to them? 

My story is not unique. I share this story with far too many others. Situations like these do not discriminate. I look around the support group I created for families with incarcerated children, and I see families from all walks of life. The lack of resources is a common theme amongst the families who attend. 

We need better access to mental health services, drug rehabilitation programs and resources for families who are financially struggling.

I believe in rehabilitation and second chances. I’ve learned that it is crucial to address the root causes of incidents like these. We need better access to mental health services, drug rehabilitation programs and resources for families who are financially struggling. It's essential to create a society that focuses on healing and providing opportunities for growth. This is why I have dedicated my time to helping families in similar situations to my own.  

My hopes are to continue to do all I can to improve conditions for the youth in New Mexico. I want to prevent this from happening to any other child. No family should feel this loss. No mother should lose their child to guns, drugs, or prison.