Community Convenings
+ DJJ Convenings
“I feel like they should ask, ‘Why did you rob that store?’ ‘well my family got denied whatever we needed,’ or, ‘there’s not enough money coming in,’ or “I am living in a certain neighborhood’ ... well, obviously they aren’t asking us any questions, so it’s like, you robbed the store, you are going to jail and that’s it.”
Community Convenings report
Community input is foundational to our campaign. To elevate the voices of youth and families directly impacted by the juvenile justice system, our Youth Facilitators co-led Community Convenings in collaboration with The Children and Family Justice Center. Thirty-three convenings were held in the nine counties that send the most children to prison.
The Community Convenings meet in small groups where youth, family members and community staff offer their opinions about the current justice system and recommendations as to what future models may work best in Illinois to keep communities safe. These convenings help the F5C and our partners to create and improve upon policy blueprints for the transformation of the juvenile prison system. We are committed to gathering this qualitative data so as to make long-lasting, effective and grassroots change that benefits everyone.
“People get beat up every day… We can’t ever get clean because there’s mold dropping on us and mice crawling in your bed…We wake up in the morning and have bad food, but at least we don’t have lice anymore.”
Department of Juvenile justice Convenings
Between July 2019 and July 2020, the Children and Family Justice Center hosted 33 convenings with youth and staff at all five of Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice prisons and one at Illinois Department of Correction’s Stateville Prison. Of the 33 convenings, 27 were with the youth, five were with DJJ staff and one was with adult inmates at DOC. In total 211 individuals participated in the convenings; 166 youth, 36 staff members, and nine adult inmates. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming report.