Youth Justice

Investing in Second Chances and Alternatives to Arrest

Our Goal:

Increase educational and economic opportunities for court-involved youth and reduce school suspensions and prevent youth involvement in the criminal justice system

Our Strategy:

We support both advocacy and direct-service organizations that address the far-reaching effects of young people’s encounters with the criminal justice system, transforming these encounters into authentic opportunities for growth and development. We focus on investing in school discipline reforms, alternatives to arrest, and educational and workforce programs for court-involved youth.

School Discipline Reform: Advocacy and support for restorative justice programs that address the school-to-prison pipeline and foster a racially just school community.
Increasing Economic Opportunity: Support for organizations working to promote educational and employment opportunities for court-involved youth.
Neighborhood-Based Arrest Diversion: Support for programs that develop alternatives to arrest while fostering community engagement and accountability with local law enforcement.

Our Investment:

2022-23 Youth Justice Grants: Grants support both advocacy and direct-service organizations that address the far-reaching effects of young people’s encounters with the criminal justice system.

*Center for Community Alternatives: For programming that connects justice-involved youth in Brownsville to community-based support services, paid training, internships, and jobs, and develops their leadership through a youth council that focuses on community issues and opportunities, including running a community garden. Brownsville
*Children's Defense Fund-New York: To address the disproportionate impact of poverty on children, with work that includes: partnering with young people on social justice advocacy; running a summer program in Brooklyn’s juvenile detention facilities; and launching a 2-year pilot project led by foster system-impacted youth that will be the first direct cash transfer program (Universal Basic Income) to support former foster youth who have “aged out” of care across the city. Boroughwide
*Coney Island Anti Violence Collaborative: To support Black and Latinx youth in Coney Island through mentoring, advocacy, and organizing, school-based violence prevention programs and STEM programs, visual and performing arts, anti-bullying workshops, community outreach, and counseling and trauma therapy, including the launch of a garden project to address and heal trauma. Coney Island
#Drive Change: To provide training and first job experience for formerly incarcerated and court-involved young people through a nonprofit food truck. Bedford Stuyvesant, Bushwick
#Flex Dance Program: To support a Flex Dance and creative mentorship program aimed at reducing the likelihood of recidivism and re-entry for young people in secure detention centers. Boroughwide+
#Good Call NYC: To support the launch of a technology-enabled hotline in Brooklyn to provide immediate legal support in case of arrest, and to hire Brooklyn youth who have benefited from the program as organizers. Boroughwide
*JobsFirstNYC: For programs to strengthen the capacity of workforce development institutions and create systems-level change through partnerships with employers and local government, with a goal of improving economic mobility and opportunities for young adults. Boroughwide‡
*Pure Legacee, Inc.: To support young women and new mothers (16-21) in Brownsville who are directly impacted by the criminal justice and foster care systems and are facing homelessness, with comprehensive trauma-formed support that includes: peer mentorship, employment, housing, and transportation assistance; mental health and substance misuse support; access to a computer lab; and training on advocacy and community organizing. Brownsville
*You Gotta Believe! The Older Child Adoption & Permanency Movement: For programs that connect youth in foster care to permanent and adoptive families using the power of credible messengers (adoptive parents and former foster youth), and a fellowship program that covers public speaking, art advocacy, and storytelling. Additional programs provide leadership development for justice-involved youth (14-25) to develop advocacy skills. Boroughwide