HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Harrisburg national non-profit has teamed up with Bryn Mawr social justice initiative in creating web forums to bring awareness and solutions to public safety challenges plaguing the nation.
The initiative is made up of three web forums to create a series called, "Conversations on the Road to Unlocked!: Investing in Our Children and Our Communities."
The third webinar tackled issues plaguing youth social justice reform.
One of the panelists, Michael Umpierre, Georgetown University, director of the center for juvenile justice reform explains the best way to tackle the matter is to begin by redesigning the system.
"One that is truly community-based and therapeutic in nature. One that does not rely on approaches that feature incarceration, punishment, control or fear," Umpierre said.
Carey Cockerell, former youth justice leader, adds the incarceration of the youth can cause irreparable issues even when they leave incarceration to enter into the world again.
"When we incarcerate kids, we disengage them from their natural resources, we disengage them from family from school, from jobs, from friends from the community and when we send them back to the community, it's very, very difficult to re-engage them with those natural resources — especially school."
One panelist shared his personal experience of being arrested multiple times as a teenager and struggling in education.
Raequan McIver, now a Washington D.C., credible messenger mentor in the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, says the youth programs aiding children are one step but a key component is the incorporation of family programs as well.
"When I leave out this door I'm going to go home to my mother and father fighting, domestic violence, drug abuse, I probably don't have food in the refrigerator," said McIver, "you know, all of the support flies out the window because now I have to get into survival mode.
Richard Craighead, president of the York NAACP chapter, shared the importance of how propaganda and misinformation play a key role in justice for a person and their image.
“If you don’t give that context to this young man’s life and why he did this thing, which landed him in this position, said Craighead, "you’re doing him a disservice because we’re losing people that can be active community members-that can be citizens, that can be heroes, doctors, lawyers judges, we’re losing people that can really change the world.”