Young Leaders and Juvenile Justice Reform

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The voices, perspectives, experiences, and input from young people who are working on juvenile justice reform and/or have experience with the system are central to CJJ's mission and vision. On August 2-3 we will host our annual Youth Summit, "Agents of Change: Rethink, Reshape, and Reform the Juvenile Justice System" (more information on the event, agenda, and registration is available here).

On the first day of the Summit, there will be four sessions that will deepen the knowledge of participants on how they can affect change in their communities and on the national level. Thematic working groups (formed based on input from our youth members and Emerging Leaders Committee -- we're looking for new members, apply today) will follow on the second day!

We are excited to announce that our police-youth relations thematic working group will be co-facilitated by two standout young people, Benjamin Saldana and Evan Riddick, who were part of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Police-Youth Roundtable that CJJ helped to organize with the International Association of Chief of Police this past April.

Ben (pictured far left, receiving recognition from the Mayor of Bridgeport, CT) is 19 Years old and from Stratford, CT. He has been doing work alongside the law enforcement in his community for years. The unique thing about Ben is that he does his work through performing arts. He writes and directs plays based around real life issues youth face with law enforcement and their communities. He works with Creative Youth Productions, a non-profit performing arts organization geared toward keeping youth informed, active, and off the streets. 

Evan is a young leader in the City of Philadelphia. He is currently serving a four-year term as Commissioner for the Philadelphia Police Advisory Commission, an appointment by the mayor and also served as the Public Safety Chair under the Philadelphia Youth Commission. Evan spends his time educating youth about community-police relations, what can be done to bring law enforcement and the communities they serve together, and how youth are an important part of the city's growth.

CJJ is excited to witness the inspiring and hard work of Ben and Evan, as well as all of the other presenters, facilitators, and participants of our upcoming Youth Summit! Don't miss your chance to be a part of this and register today!