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Governor Hochul Signs Legislation Allowing Youth Tried as Adults Second Chance to Seal Records

November 4, 2021. On Tuesday, Governor Hochul signed S.282 (Myrie) / A.6769 (Hyndman), legislation providing people who were eligible for youthful offender (YO) status but denied in the past a new opportunity to apply for it. The measure is an important extension of the 2017 “Raise the Age” law.

Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, hires thousands of new workers across the U.S. each year. But according to a lawsuit recently filed by Youth Represent & Outten & Golden LLP, the retail giant also rejects many qualified applicants because of their criminal histories –

Since 2010, Youth Represent has prided itself on its outstanding partnership with more than 16 organizations and agencies across New York City. In fact, our partnerships — which range from workforce development, alternative-to-incarceration to LGTBQ youth and health — are the cornerstone of our community-lawyering model to help us reach and assist our criminal system involved youth clients.

We want to welcome our newest member to the team, Ying Yu Situ. Starting on June 1, Ying began working as a Paralegal at Youth Represent, assisting our Staff Attorneys and reporting to Supervising Attorney Dale Ventura.  

As a client-centered legal organization that serves predominantly youth of color, we refuse to undermine the importance of committing to fight against racism. In this pivotal moment of racial reckoning within America, we stand in solidarity with our AAPI and Black communities who are relentlessly fighting for our country to recognize that their lives matter.

For many Youth Represent clients, the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn created new financial emergencies. 

We repeatedly heard from clients during the pandemic that unemployment, job closures, and lockdowns, not only disrupted their lives, but also kept them from having money to pay for emergency needs, like food, housing, child care, commuting, health care, and utility bills. 

Youth Represent is excited to welcome Jeanne Byrd Adams and Ayirini Fonseca-Sabune as our two newest members of our Board of Directors.

June 10, 2021.  The New York State Senate and Assembly have passed S.282 (Myrie) / A.6769 (Hyndman), legislation providing people who were eligible for youthful offender (YO) status but denied in the past a new opportunity to apply for it.  The measure is an important extension of the 2017 “Raise the Age” law. 

Like all of you, our work at Youth Represent has been disrupted by the global pandemic, quarantine, and shutdowns. Not only did our New York City offices close abruptly last year, but so did the many different support systems that our clients rely on.

We are thrilled to highlight two recent legislative victories, both of which have implications for young people in New York State. Youth Represent is proud to have supported the HALT Solitary and Start SMART New York campaigns, both of which centered grassroots organizing and racial justice to win transformative changes to the criminal legal system in our state.