There are many problems plaguing the youth justice system, including faults in the probation system, high levels of recidivism and lack of access to resources for low-income and minority youth. However, one problem that is seldom discussed and has a significant impact on youth is the use of detention centers. The Juvenile Justice Advocates at Howard University are an excellent example of how advocacy can make a difference in the lives of detained youth.
For our final interview for Youth Justice Action Month, Emily Fromke spoke with Iliana Pujols, the policy advisor at the Connecticut Justice Alliance. In this interview, she shares her story going through the youth justice system as a teenager and how she uses her experience to help current youth.
Texas alone cannot address the issues contributing to the violent behaviors of youth landing them in correctional facilities and the recidivism that results when they return to the same social groups and environments where they developed these behaviors. Families, communities and churches all have contributions to make.
Dr. Tracee Perryman, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Center of Hope Family Services in Toledo, Ohio, joins Emily Fromke in a discussion about juvenile justice advocacy, diversion programs in Ohio and hope for the future.
Chattanooga, located in the southeastern corner of Tennessee, made national headlines in late May after a deadly shooting occurred in the city’s downtown riverfront area. The most disturbing detail of this shooting, without a doubt, is that it was a victimization of the city’s youth, by the city’s youth. Six teens were shot and two were sent to the ICU at the hands of their peers. Regrettably, this would not be the last tragedy of the summer: three months later, in mid-August, a sixteen-year-old was shot and killed — again, by one of his peers. Even more regrettably, these shootings find themselves lost within a larger narrative — one which tells a story of a city where gun violence, gang violence, and crime plague its youth. But there is hope, still. The story has yet to end because the city refuses to abandon its youth to this epidemic.
Family time yields abundant benefits. However, many families, especially low-wage and low-wealth families, struggle to dedicate as much time to family as they would like. Christians who recognize the socially foundational nature of family must not only talk about the importance of family, but enact policies and create cultures that tangibly demonstrate its importance.
Incarceration has put a metal wall between over five million American children and their parents at some point in their childhood. Combating the negative effects stemming from parental incarceration may not have an easy answer, but when government and civil society partner, positive change can result.
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