California voters next spring will get to decide on a ballot measure to create housing and treatment options, especially for homeless individuals with serious mental illness. If it passes, the measure championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom would mark the first major overhaul of the state’s community mental health system in 20 years.

The two-pronged proposition on the March primary election ballot includes a nearly $6.4 billion bond to build 10,000 treatment units and supportive housing. It also asks voters to redefine how counties spend money collected from a special “millionaire’s tax” to allocate a share of it for housing for people with behavioral health illnesses.

Newsom and supporters have promoted Proposition 1 as a way to help address the state’s deteriorating homelessness and addiction crises. They contend increased investment and an update to the state’s Mental Health Services Act is “long overdue”.

The Legislature on Thursday overwhelmingly backed his proposal, with lopsided votes to place it on the 2024 ballot. Newsom still must sign the bills, and he said he would in a written statement after a late-night vote in the Assembly.

“These measures represent a key part of the solution to our homelessness crisis, and improving mental health for kids and families,” Newsom said. “Now, it will be up to voters to ratify the most significant changes to California’s mental health system in more than 50 years.”

Opponents of the ballot measure say diverting money in the Mental Health Services Act for housing will result in up to $1 billion in cuts to current mental health programs such as outpatient care and crisis response. Other advocates criticize the governor for making last-minute changes to the bond, allowing the money to be spent on involuntary treatment institutions.

So what exactly are voters being asked to consider? Here’s how the proposal breaks down.

What is Mental Health Services Act?

The Mental Health Services Act, which voters passed as a ballot measure in 2004, levies a 1% tax on personal income more than $1 million. It passed at a time when the state’s mental health system was severely underfunded. Since then, the tax has generated an estimated $26 billion for county mental health programs. Last year the tax garnered more than $3 billion. It supports roughly one-third of the state’s mental health system.

The tax is not California’s only source of revenue for mental health programs. The state also receives money from Medi-Cal, and it spends a portion of its general fund on those services. Those sources come with strict spending limitations. For example, Medi-Cal primarily pays for treatment of mental health disorders but will not cover prevention programs. It also will not pay for inpatient treatment at a facility with more than 16 beds.

Counties have come to rely on the relative flexibility of Mental Health Services Act dollars to pay for core services like outpatient care, outreach and engagement, school-based counseling, youth wellness programs, family resource centers, and crisis response teams.

Flanked by state and local politicians, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state’s plan to address homelessness across the state at Cal Expo in Sacramento on March 16. (Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)

What does Newsom want to do?

The most significant change put forth by the governor is a requirement that counties invest 30% of their Mental Health Services Act tax dollars — roughly $1 billion based on last year’s revenue — in housing programs, including rental subsidies and navigation services. Counties would have to spend half this money on people who are chronically homeless or living in encampments. They could also use up to one quarter of the money to build or purchase housing units.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg has been a staunch supporter of Newsom’s proposal. Steinberg was one of the co-authors of the Mental Health Services Act when he was an assemblymember in 2004.

“To put it plainly, not enough of the Mental Health Services Act dollars are getting out to the people with the most persistent mental illnesses, specifically people who are chronically homeless and living with those underlying conditions,” Steinberg said during a press call in August. “So that’s where you start.”

The ballot measure puts counties on the hook for paying for substance use disorder treatment with Mental Health Services Act money. Counties have historically paid for addiction treatment with other funding.

And, it renames the program as the Behavioral Health Services Act.

What will the bond measure do?

The second half of Newsom’s proposal places a $6.4 billion general obligation bond before voters to dramatically expand the state’s psychiatric and addiction treatment infrastructure.

Nearly $4.4 billion would go toward building inpatient and residential treatment beds and could serve 100,000 people annually, officials said. California faces a shortage of nearly 8,000 adult psychiatric beds, said Nicole Eberhart, senior behavioral health scientist for the RAND Corp., during testimony to an Assembly budget subcommittee in May. Long waitlists plague the state’s inpatient mental health system, and doctors say there’s nowhere to send stable patients who need long-term treatment focused on recovery.

Another $2 billion will go toward building permanent supportive housing, with half set aside for veterans with mental health diagnoses or addiction disorders.

How many are unhoused?

More than 170,000 Californians are unhoused, the vast majority of whom live in street encampments. California has the highest homeless rate per 10,000 people, second only to the District of Columbia, and the highest proportion of unsheltered homeless individuals in the country, according to federal data.

A landmark study by the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative found about two-thirds of unhoused Californians surveyed suffered from a mental health disorder but only 19% had received recent treatment. The driving force behind homelessness, however, was most often income loss, not mental illness or addiction, according to the study.

Who are supporters?

Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, a Democrat from Stockton, carried the proposed reform of the Mental Health Services Act in the Legislature. During Thursday’s Senate concurrence vote, Talamantes Eggman said the way counties spend state mental health funding needs to address changes that have happened in the two decades since the act was first designed.

Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, a Democrat from Thousand Oaks, carried the bond proposal in the Legislature.

Mayors and county supervisors from eight major regions, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, successfully lobbied to increase funding for the bond measure by $1.5 billion. City leaders were early supporters of the measure with more than two dozen submitting letters of support along with housing and homeless advocates and the National Alliance on Mental Illness California.

Who are opponents?

Peer-run and disability organizations have been the staunchest opponents to the changes proposed in the ballot measure. They argue current clients will lose treatment options and accuse Newsom’s administration of using the proposal to fund his CARE Court initiative that passed last year. That law allows a court to place someone with a serious mental illness into a court-ordered treatment program.

Groups representing people of color and LGBTQ communities also oppose the measure. They say it will eliminate prevention resources and worsen already stark disparities in access to treatment. Resource centers that target these populations are among the services most likely to get cut, county behavioral health leaders have said in public hearing.

The bond measure, which previously faced no opposition, drew fierce criticism from peer and disability advocates after last-minute amendments allowed the money to be used on involuntary treatment facilities.

“This is a really tough time for our communities,” said Paul Simmons, executive director of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. “Our concern with (the proposition) is massive increases in involuntary and forced treatment.”

Children and family advocates withdrew previous opposition after securing significant concessions from the governor requiring 51% of spending on early intervention be targeted toward children and youth.

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SAN JOSE — The rooms inside this building—modestly furnished with neatly made twin beds, tables, chairs and nightstands decorated with vases of faux orange-and-violet daises—may look unremarkable. But to Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, they represent hope.

The 11 double-occupancy rooms and six singles—a total of 28 beds—will house adults with severe mental illnesses at the county’s newest residential mental health treatment center, which is set to open this fall. Across the street from Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in West San Jose, it will serve who are no longer in crisis, but need assistance transitioning back to their day-to-day lives.

“Each one of these rooms offers the opportunity, the hope of a better life,” Simitian told an enthusiastic crowd gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the facility on Tuesday afternoon. “Each of these rooms promises the hope of a life that is full and richer and worth living.”

The county’s new 28-bed inpatient mental health facility had a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by many local politicians, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, in San Jose, Calif. The facility operated by Momentum for Health is in a former detox facility next to the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

In addition to its rooms, the $1.8 million renovated facility—formerly a detox center run by Horizon Services—has two common rooms, a kitchen and space for group and individual therapy. Patients, who could receive services for up to two years, according to county officials, will also have access to psychiatric services, addiction treatment and other support.

The facility will be run by one of the county’s contractors, Momentum for Health, and services are estimated to cost $2.8 million annually.

The expansion of Santa Clara County’s stock of psychiatric beds comes a year-and-a-half after Board President Susan Ellenberg declared a local mental health and substance use crisis, and just a week after the release of a county-commissioned study that found a local shortage of psychiatric beds.

Since Ellenberg’s January 2022 declaration, the county has expanded its contracts to add 99 psychiatric beds. The board has also recently dedicated funding for another 173 beds, including the 28 on South Bascom Avenue.

“Locally, we are moving faster than we had been for a number of years,” Ellenberg told the Mercury News. “Locally, we are also paying more significant attention to the distinctions between mental health treatment and substance use disorder treatment, and the different facilities and responses that are needed.”

A room at Santa Clara County’s new 28-bed inpatient mental health facility is toured, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, in San Jose, Calif. Operated by Momentum for Health, the facility is in a former detox center next to the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

The county will have to continue to move quickly if it wants to meet the demand. According to a recently released county-commissioned study from non-partisan think tank RAND Corporation, Santa Clara County has a significant shortage of subacute psychiatric beds — a level of care in which patients often require in-house care for several months.

In order to meet the needs of the community, researchers said the county requires 251 acute inpatient beds, 90 crisis residential beds and 372 subacute beds.The study estimated that for adults in the county, there are 304 acute inpatient beds and 92 crisis residential beds–exceeding the number required in those categories–but only 216 subacute beds.

Jonathan Levin, an associate policy researcher at RAND, said the county will need 3.6% more adult psychiatric beds over the next five years to meet its needs.

In an effort to help the county meet its goals, the RAND report offered several recommendations that included increasing the number of beds for it refers to as “hard-to-place populations.”

“On the psychiatry side, that was particularly for individuals with dementia, individuals who were non-ambulatory, those who require oxygen and those without funding sources,” Levin said. “And on the substance disorder use treatment facility side, only about 5% of facilities accepted individuals with dementia. Only about a fifth of the facilities accepted patients with a physical co-occurring health condition or those who have an arson or sex offense conviction. There are also fairly low rates of accepting individuals who are non-ambulatory also without funding sources.”

For Valerie Aboge, turning to county mental health services after a suicide attempt last July was the first time in her life that she felt a feeling of security, safety and that she mattered. After spending time in the psychiatry ward at Stanford Hospital, she transitioned to one of Momentum’s residential treatment programs.

“The help is there and I am a living example that you can come from such darkness and get into the light because of the resources that are available,” she said.

If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offers free, round-the-clock support, information and resources for help. Call or text the lifeline at 988, or see the 988lifeline.org website, where chat is available.

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Best Aesthetic Treatment

1. Mountain Spirit Integrative Medicine

Crank up the volume on Sophie’s “Faceshopping” (RIP, dear Sophie), and get ready for some self-customization. Likely the most beloved of Mountain Spirit’s range of dermal offerings are SkinPen collagen induction micro, needling treatments (for the uninitiated, that entails using a bunch of very tiny, FDA-approved needles to activate the body’s own collagen production in response to injury), but you’ll also find a bevy of acupuncture treatments, botanical facials and more from these self-care experts.

303 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 988-2449

2. Glow – House of Beauty and Pain

We love honesty in advertising, and nobody’s more upfront about aesthetic treatments than Glow (who also would win an award for Most Metal Business Name if that were a category). Microblade away in the serenity of an optional private room.

3600 Cerrillos Road, Ste. 504A/B, (505) 471-1008

3. Ageless Aesthetics

Particular experts in wielding needles (with treatments ranging in nature from subdermal vitamin therapy to line-smoothing injectables), the folks at Ageless are also your best bet for earlobe enhancement—an option which has given us a whole new source of dysmorphia!

546 Harkle Road, Ste. A, (505) 473-7546

Best Barber

1. The Center Barber

Owners Velma and Jude Vigil (descendants of founders Ramon and Aurora Vigil) are the keepers of more than 69 years of family hair-shearing expertise. Having seen Santa Fe through everything from beehives to buzzcuts in that time, there’s pretty much no cut they can’t execute—but why not go old school and try a straight razor shave? You’ll love the classic look and feel of the shop.

503 W. Cordova Road, (505) 982-1020, 931 W. Alameda St., (505) 983-9816

2. Klean Cut Kenny

The eponymous Kenny Tapia is beloved for two reasons: his utterly pristine men’s cuts and his generosity with his time. A regular volunteer at fundraiser cutting events for children’s cancer, he’s a true gentleman’s barber with a heart of gold.

3600 Cerrillos Road, Ste. 404A, (505) 920-2864

3. Santa Fe Barber Company

Dust Parker and Cohdi Harrell aren’t just the Southside’s prime providers of classic cuts and straight razor head shaves—they also offer free dreadlock consultations, which is a notable blessing in a town with too few experts on Black hair textures.

2882 Trades West Road, Ste. 1A, (505) 557-6421

Best Facial

1. Ageless Aesthetics

We love a good sheet facial and like to consider ourselves amateur moisturizer connoisseurs, but Ageless boasts an array of facial options we hadn’t even heard of anywhere else. Sure, you can be an OG and go with the Ageless Classic (steam, exfoliation, massage, personalized mask and vitamins)—but why not explore that utterly mysterious onyx laser facial or the futuristically named Glo’Facial by Geneo (which uses both ultrasound and radio frequency technology)?

546 Harkle Road, Ste. A, (505) 473-7546

2. Glow – House of Beauty and Pain

Owner Jonelle Duvall doesn’t just know how to pick a killer name—she also pioneered Santa Fe’s primary Facial Bar. Whether you’re more of a five-layer flower bomb peel person or a microchanneling mama, you’re sure to leave looking illuminated.

3600 Cerrillos Road, Ste. 504A/B, (505) 471-1008

3. Alkemesta

We love to support a WOC-owned business with our self-care spending, and Alkemesta’s Anayensi Olivas has us beautifully covered for everything from LED light therapy (certain clear-skinned SFR staffers swear by its power) to enzyme peels.

1210 Luisa St., Ste. 12A, (505) 900-1474

Best Hair Salon

1. The Color Bar

While Color Bar has been placing in the top three of Best of Santa Fe for years, this win is a testament to the hard work owner Nikki Martinez and her team have put into tinting and trimming our locks for over 10 years now. And with its particularly queer-friendly atmosphere—the site highlights Color Bar’s commitment to “providing our LGBTQ+ community with identity expression/exploration through hair”—there truly is a barber’s chair for everybody here.

21 Bisbee Court, Ste. H, (505) 310-4903

2. Prizm Salon

Anyone who has experimented with red-based hair dye will tell you how hard it is to maintain. But take one look at the gorgeous fuchsia and intense purple filling Prizm’s gallery, and you’ll know your hues are in expert hands.

4056 Cerrillos Road, Ste. C2, (505) 920-0387

3. Guys & Dolls Salon

If you are a lass/And your blonde’s turned to brass/You can bet that they’ll fix it at Guys & Dolls—but it also specializes in highlights, balayage, trims and just about everything else a lady needs to maintain her locks.

1587 Pacheco St., (505) 984-2887

Best Massage

1. Ten Thousand Waves

Let’s get real for a second here: A good massage is never just about the actual bodywork. It’s about the atmosphere, the sense of specialness that comes with doing something just for yourself. And there’s simply nowhere in town that captures that feeling of utter escape from life’s chaos quite like Ten Thousand Waves. Watch the koi or enjoy the public bath while you wait for your session, and you’ll start slipping into a different world.

21 Ten Thousand Waves Way, (505) 982-9304

2. Ojo Santa Fe

Speaking of otherworldliness—are we the only ones who think Ojo Santa Fe’s round tubs overlooking the natural water features of La Cienaga look a little like portals? Take a dip before your massage, and see where they lead you.

242 Los Pinos Road, (877) 977-8212

3. High Desert Healthcare & Massage

Swedish massage is the name of the game here, which, for those who’ve not yet experienced its magic, takes a much gentler approach than deep tissue. That makes it your best bet for full-body , relaxation (as opposed to muscle , readjustment).

644 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 984-8830

Best Nail Salon

1. Serenity Salon

Not to get on our soap box, but the fact that nail adornment tends to be discussed as an indulgence rather than an art always struck us a little bit fishy. It’s a form of creative expression requiring intense skill and dexterity with a brush—and the maestras at Serenity give it the respect it deserves. Don’t let the lack of internet presence lead you astray: These folks have so many repeat customers for , good reason.

4056 Cerrillos Road, (505) 471-2106

2. Hannah’s Healthy Nails

Remember what we were saying about the atmosphere being as important as the massage? That holds true for manicures as well, and the coziness of Hannah’s is a world away from the clinical atmosphere and chemical smells we fear from salons.

501 Franklin Ave., (505) 603-0464

3. Santa Fe Lash and Beauty Bar

We have two words for those who yearn for manicures that last longer than, like, four days before chipping—BioSculpture Gel. It’s a specialty at the Lash and Beauty Bar and holds strong for at least two weeks.

1012 Marquez Place, Unit 101, (505) 988-8923

Skinplicity (Kelli Johansen)

Best Skin Care Products

1. Ageless Aesthetics

Thank goodness the days of the snail goop skin care fad seem to be behind us, and we can instead talk about such intriguing dermal treats as papaya enzyme cleansers, tinted medical sunscreens (woah) and marine extract moisturizers that will leave you feeling as hydrated as the Little Mermaid swimming through a kelp forest. There’s a whole new world of cutting-edge skin care out there—and Ageless Aesthetics offers the opportunity to sample it all.

546 Harkle Road, Ste. A, (505) 473-7546

2. Skinplicity

Stocking brands such as Éminence Organic Skincare (a Hungarian company focusing on botanical ingredients) and Environ (which produces science-centric products intended to deliver vitamins directly to skin), Skinplicity cuts the unnecessary additives and gets straight to skin healing.

2019 Galisteo St., Ste. J2, (505) 660-6350

3. Eldorado Skin Care

Treat yourself to a miniature shopping vacation, and browse your way through Eldorado Skin Care’s broad selection of products chosen specifically to target the unique challenges associated with our windy and ultra-dry high desert climate.

5 Caliente Road, #4, Eldorado, (505) 795-8891

Best Spa

1. Ten Thousand Waves

If you thought we were done raving about Santa Fe’s slice of Studio Ghibli-level enchantment, think again. Ten Thousand Waves doesn’t just have the aforementioned steaming tubs, mountain views and Izakaya dining. We maintain that even the animals around the spa act a little differently. Keep an eye out for a black cat that’s a dead ringer for Jiji from Kiki’s Delivery Service winding around the bathhouse, and tell us you don’t feel the magic.

21 Ten Thousand Waves Way, (505) 982-9304

2. Ojo Santa Fe

A spa at an actual spring site just hits differently. You might not be yourself dipping directly in the natural water, but with it almost close enough to touch from your tub, you really get the best of both worlds.

242 Los Pinos Road, (877) 977-8212

3. Ageless Aesthetics

Even with all its already-discussed accolades this year, we still have so much left to tell you about Ageless’ myriad spa offerings—including laser hair and tattoo removal, laser skin resurfacing and even red vein laser removal. So many lasers.

546 Harkle Road, Ste. A, (505) 473-7546

Best Tattoo Shop

1. The Dungeon Tattoo & Piercing

Much like its heavily tatted staff and client base, The Dungeon may be tough in appearance, but it’s got an immensely soft and sweet core. As the reigning tattoo (and piercing) champions around town for so many years we’ve pretty much lost count, they could easily have developed a too-cool-for-you attitude towards ink newcomers. Instead, they treat each new client as a member of the tattooed family—with all the respect and warmth that entails.

1632 Cerrillos Road, (505) 983-8262

2. Four Star Tattoo

If you take a peek inside the SFR offices, you’ll see so many Four Star tattoos on staffers’ bodies that we basically constitute a walking Four Star Instagram feed. From ‘50s-influenced sailor styles to intricate line work, these folks can ink it all.

825 Topeka St., (505) 984-9131

3. Dawn’s Custom Tattoo

Getting tattooed is an intimate experience—and plenty of AFAB folks feel more comfortable working with a femme artist. Proprietor Dawn Purnell offers a perfect answer with more than 20 years of experience and countless raves to vouch for her skills.

1100 Hickox St., (505) 986-0002

Best Waxing

1. Waxing the City

You should know by now that SFR loves a good punny headline, so Waxing the City already gets a few points in our book on name alone. But that humor also points to one of the business’s best features: Its relaxed and laid-back attitude helps you to embrace the silliness associated with paying someone to rip your body hair out, thereby offering levity in the midst of an experience that can otherwise be intimidating for newcomers.

4386 Rodeo Road, (505) 474-2994

2. Sherry’s Sugar Shack

Oh Sherry, thank you for making the infamous Brazilian more accessible to newbies through your kind-hearted First Brazilian Bikini Guide. Putting a friendly face to the process and walking us through best prep practices goes such a long way. Plus, we like your name, too.

1850 Calle Medico, Ste. F, (505) 226-4478

3. Prizm Salon

That’s right, these folks aren’t just experts in trimming hair—they’re happy to help you remove it all as well. Whether you’re looking for a lil’ landing strip or just a brief bikini wax, your follicles will be treated fabulously.

4056 Cerrillos Road, Ste. C2, (505) 920-0387

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Moths flutter around as the sun streams through the windows of an old basketball court with wooden bleachers and tiled walls. Six women in orange or green jumpsuits lay out yoga mats, blocks and bolster pillows and set their shoes aside. They come to the class three times a week, where a correctional officer looks on as Phoenix Savage leads them in a stretch as the first of frequent announcements blares over an intercom.

Savage serves on the board of the Santa Fe Community Yoga Center, a nonprofit that has partnered with the New Mexico Corrections Department to offer a course in yoga, meditation and mindfulness at the women’s facility in Springer. The class aims to help keep participants out of prison once they’re released, but is also helping them cope with stresses behind the walls in the meantime.

After stretching, Savage teaches her first of two classes of the day a new breathing exercise. She instructs them to breathe in for a count of four and breathe out while pursing their lips for six. It’s part of a mindfulness practice intended to focus awareness on the present.

“It’s helping you to transition from what would be a flight or fight type of response to a challenge to a more controlled, composed response,” she tells her yoga students.

Kayla Solomon has been taking the class since it started in April. She’d never done yoga before and said she signed up to get active and relieve muscle tension.

“So, I didn’t think [to] that extent that you’ve got to breathe all the dang time,” she said, “It’s about the stretching, but it’s also about the breathing.”

She said of all the yoga class’s activities she’s actually gotten the most from the breathing techniques.

“Because out there I wouldn’t breath; I’d go from zero to one hundred,” she said. “And now, without even knowing it, I’m using those breathing techniques to calm myself down.”

The rate of people returning to incarceration within three years of release has been dropping in New Mexico — down to 35% from 55% in 2020, according to a recent report by the Legislative Finance Committee. Savage said she hopes her class can help lower that rate even more for its participants. Solomon said she thinks that’s possible.

“If I would have had some coping skills, or healthy coping skills instead of the negative ones that got me here, I feel like I probably wouldn’t be where I am today,” she said.

She said she felt like people didn’t really care about her on the outside.

“Now I’ve had this time to sit down and learn things like this and have the people take time out of their day to come in and try to teach us something that might help us farther along the way,” she said. “And I feel like it probably would — because I’ve learned healthier ways of dealing with things.”

Savage said she hopes to measure whether the class lowers participants’ risk of getting locked up again through data tracking and focus groups since current research on the impact of yoga, mindfulness and meditation on recidivism is limited. However, several studies have shown the practices can help.

Phoenix Savage sits in front of the labyrinth outside the Santa Fe Community Yoga Center, where she serves on the board. Savage spearheaded the center’s recent partnership with NMCD and commutes four hours three times per week to lead the classes.

The reasons behind reincarceration are complex — from having been in the system before to lacking a support system outside or facing challenges around mental health, substance use, housing or employment. Savage said she can’t address all of them.

“I am connecting you to this process within yourself that is going to hopefully allow you to look at your options and figure out which options you should be taking,” she said about what she can offer a participant in her Springer yoga class. “And that’s where mindfulness comes in. And maybe to the average person [it seems like], ‘Hey, that’s just common thought.’ But here’s the reality: We don’t all get an equal chance at common thought.”

Trauma can disrupt decision making and numerous studies have shown that women entering U.S. prisons experience it at high rates. A 2013 report from the New Mexico Sentencing Commission showed nearly 90% of women surveyed had been physically assaulted in their lifetimes and 67% had been sexually assaulted.

Savage said she works to make the class trauma-informed by selecting poses that would be most comfortable for survivors of assault. So, participants don’t put their legs in the air while on their backs and avoid poses like downward dog, which she said can be triggering because they aren’t aware of their surroundings.

When asked what’s different about teaching yoga in a prison context, she said people in general aren’t always connected with their bodies, “but when you’re incarcerated I think you have more of a disconnect. Because your body no longer belongs to you. Your body is a product of the government at that point.”

Just being in prison itself can be traumatic. Multiple lawsuits related to alleged sexual assault, harassment and retaliation have been filed against Springer and its staff in recent years, and The Albuquerque Journal reports former Springer correctional officer Joseph Martinez was charged in 2021 with criminal sexual penetration of a woman incarcerated at the facility. He denies the rape allegations.

Warden Marianna Vigil says bringing the yoga class in had nothing to do with the allegations, adding that it’s one of many recreational opportunities at the minimum security facility, including softball, volleyball and Zumba.

“They all reside here obviously, so they all learn how to work together,” Vigil said. “And I think it also boosts their self-esteem.”

Springer also has educational offerings meant to boost life and coping skills, like substance use treatment, heavy equipment operation training and an associate’s degree program.

The Corrections Department has contracted with the Santa Fe Community Yoga Center through the end next month, but it’s open to renewing the agreement. The department set aside up to $10,866 for this first round of classes to pay for equipment and training, as well as instructors and their travel time.

Phoenix Savage of the Santa Fe Community Yoga Center leads participants from the Springer Correctional Center in a guided meditation.

Savage said she plans to take a break in July after these first 8-week classes wrap up and start back up in August. She has identified a prison staff member who’s willing to go through yoga certification training to improve the sustainability of the class by saving Savage the four-hour round-trip commute from Santa Fe, allowing her to focus on coordinating the program.

But for the next month, Savage will continue to take her yoga students who can’t otherwise leave the prison’s walls to an imaginary forest through guided meditation. After climbing a tall tree, they find a beautiful green cloud that drops down a ladder.

“You step inside the green cloud,” she tells them. “You’re so happy. You are safe, you are breathing.”

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