In 2009, the US Congress dedicated the month of March to Criminal Justice Awareness. Many of you may be wondering how does what happens within the criminal justice system affect me? But, the reality is that the criminal justice system affects all of us. Even if we have, personally, never been touched by incarceration or a legal proceeding. It goes way beyond just our tax dollars, too. What happens within the criminal justice system effects what happens in our communities.
Our goal during this month is to both create awareness around the consequences of the school-to-prison pipeline and with your support fund a trauma sensitive, mindfulness-based program for the juvenile justice system. Help be a part of the solution.
The school-to-prison pipeline describes the disproportionate tendency of minors and young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds to become incarcerated because of increasingly harsh school and municipal policies. According to the ACLU, there a number of stops along this path, including: our failing public school system, zero-tolerance policies, outsourcing to school police officers, and the juvenile court systems.
You can help contribute to the mindfulness and healing of people affected by the school-to-prison pipeline by donating to TYP today. Meditation and yoga are both low-cost, effective and evidence-based ways to improve children’s self-esteem, reduce stress levels & help develop self-regulation & anger management (Berger et al, 2009; Butzer et al, 2016). Everyday we are working to transform the lives of our participants through yoga and mindfulness. Recently, in a local school, students who needed further support to thrive, were identified by counselors to participate in our trauma-sensitive yoga program for 8 weeks. The counselors reported back that they are seeing significant improvements in the students anxiety and stress. Our as one of our youth participants said it best, “That jawn was relaxing!”
Your donation of $7 will provide one class to an individual in a juvenile detention center, $30 will cover the cost of one entire class, and $100 will provide materials for a year. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as we #letstalkjustice and #letstalktransformation.
Did you know….
- That there are approximately 54,000 adolescents not living home, but at correctional facilities, every day (Campaign for Youth Justice Initiative)?
That just one encounter with a juvenile court can greatly increase a child’s chance of dropping out and ultimately being incarcerated (ACLU)?
That there are over 300 children in Philadelphia serving life sentences (YSRP)?