Family Member

Chandra Grayson

For years, Chandra Grayson and her family lived through the emotional and fiscal upheaval wrought by the court's punitive fines and fees incurred...

System-Impacted Youth

Yusef Presley

“The way my life went, it took a village,” begins Yusef Presley. Caught up in the system since the age of five, Yusef’s search for community was often...

System-Impacted Youth

Priscilla Amao

Priscilla Amao's encounter with the justice system began at the age of 13 due to her truancy. Being the eldest child of migrant farm workers...

Advocate

Nadia Mozaffar

Nadia Mozaffar, a Senior Attorney at Juvenile Law Center, focuses on advancing educational rights for children in the juvenile justice and child...

Family Member

Jessica Chavez

Jessica Chavez, a program coordinator for the Lawyer Referral Service of Monterey County, bears the weight of fees and fines that have burdened her...

System-Impacted Youth

Marcus Jarvis

Marcus Jarvis, an Outreach and Communications Associate for the Debt Free Justice Campaign and Juvenile Law Center, highlights the disproportionate...

Family Member

Lynn Ausley

In Lynn Ausley's heartbreaking journey through the juvenile justice system, we witness a mother's unwavering love and her relentless battle against a...

System-Impacted Youth

Phal Sok

Phal Sok's story highlights the impact of current criminal justice policies and the imposition of fees and fines on individuals like him. Starting at...

Family Member

Jeannette Bocanegra

Jeannette Bocanegra is a mother who intimately understands the challenges of legal system policies that impact families and communities. Having...

System-Impacted Youth

Dion Armour

Dion Amour, a 14-year-old in Wichita, Kansas, is on probation and wearing an ankle monitor. She works with a therapist four times a week and is trying...

System-Impacted Youth

Phillip Pittman

At the age of 13, Phillip Pittman and his friends were on their way to buy a flip phone when he was unexpectedly arrested, starting his involvement...

Advocate

Michael Harris

Michael Harris is an attorney and Senior Director for Justice and Equity and Legal Advocacy at the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL). He works on...

System-Impacted Youth

Sierra Jones

Sierra’s journey with the justice system began at the young age of 11. Still, at the age of 37, that trauma sits with her today. A misdemeanor as a...

System-Impacted Youth

Kahlil Straxson

Kahlil had his first encounter with the court system at the young age of 16 – unaware of the dreadful experience he was about to have within the...

Media

Ruddy Roye

Radcliffe Roye is a Cleveland-based documentary photographer specializing in editorial and environmental portraits and photojournalism. Ruddy spoke to...

Family Member

Julissa Soto

Julissa’s son wanted to save their struggling family some money at the young age of 15. He shoplifted a tube of toothpaste, and when charged, the...

Advocate

Desmond Bryant

Des the Poet is a three-time published author of poetry compilation projects titled "Adoer," "No Excuses," and his latest, "Better Days In 90 Days...

Advocate

Marquetta Atkins

Marquetta is a community educator who brings her passion for working with youth and her creative energy to the table as a facilitator. For years she...

System-Impacted Youth

Ado'Nijah Zaire Metcalf

Ado’Nijah Zaire Metcalf, 23, recalls tickets and court fee invoices arriving in the mail while his mom worked two jobs to try to pay them off and feed...

System-Impacted Youth

Kristen Powell

Kristen Powell entered the justice system for the first time when she was 13 years old after she ran away from home to escape a difficult situation...

System-Impacted Youth

Dante Bristow

Dante Bristow, 23, was raised by a single mother in Wichita, Kansas. As a child, he remembers his household would start to run out of food toward the...

System-Impacted Youth

Tyler Williams

Tyler Williams served a 6-year sentence in a Kansas juvenile justice facility for a crime he committed when he was 13 years old. After Tyler finished...

System-Impacted Youth

Nykia Gatson

Twenty-year-old Nykia Gatson first entered the Kansas juvenile justice system for stealing when she was just 10 years old. While she was imprisoned...

System-Impacted Youth

Aiden Decker

Abandoned, abused, and incarcerated; Aiden is an 18-year-old survivor who is preparing to build a family, rebuild his life, and repair a relationship...