We’ve launched!
This blog post originally appeared in our F5C Newsletter. Subscribe to stay up-to-date on all things Final 5.
Friend,
Thank you for standing with us as we officially launch The Final 5 Campaign.
As you're likely well aware, we are a coalition of formerly incarcerated youth, families impacted by the juvenile legal system, and allies who are committed to ending youth incarceration and believe in investing in communities.
This launch has been a long time in the making. Yes, it's been a year of planning and recruiting a youth cohort and months of developing impactful strategy and holistic campaign goals. But we know that decades of work from countless advocates, organizers, community members, and system-impacted youth and families has brought us to this moment. Thank you.
Last week, Governor Pritzker announced a four-year plan to overhaul Illinois' state youth prison system towards smaller, regional facilities. In his announcement, Pritzker said that “the facilities that should, in theory, be nurturing children and rehabilitating them in their adolescence, instead exacerbate trauma, interfere with their family relationships and create a culture of instability and violence." We could not agree more, and look forward to working with the state to achieve our shared vision of a just and nurturing model for youth care.
That's where you come in. The Governor's announcement is no doubt a promising step in the right direction, but we need to stay focused on the five priorities of our grassroots campaign to ensure this new model is youth-led and community-involved.
Five Ways to Support The Final 5 Campaign:
1) Sign on to Our 5 Priorities. Signatures go a long way to show the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government that we are here and ready to help lead the way.
2) You've already Subscribed! But have you followed us? We're on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Give us a like and a follow to expand our reach!
3) Book a Workshop! Want to learn more about DJJ, youth prisons, and The Final 5 Campaign? Our cohort of Youth Facilitators is ready to help. Starting September you can invite a F5C Youth Facilitator to your organization to get you up-to-date and informed.
4) Nominate a Youth. We're on the lookout for more young people to include in our cohort of youth leaders.
5) Spread the word. Last but not least, get the word out about our campaign. We find that when people learn about the unjust practices of youth incarceration, they want to help. It's only a matter of sharing the research and the stories to get people on board.
Otherwise, stay tuned for our Virtual Town Hall coming the week of September 14 (date and time to be announced)!
In solidarity,
The Final 5 Campaign