Juvenile Reentry Assistance Program
The Juvenile Reentry Assistance Program places Youth Represent staff on-site at public housing developments across the five boroughs, meeting young people where they live to minimize legal barriers to reentry. We are providing the same combination of direct legal representation, Know Your Rights workshops, and capacity building that have become the hallmark of our successful community-lawyering model. The project is funded in part by a Juvenile Reentry Assistance Program grant from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and is delivered in partnership with New York City Housing Authority.
Medical/Legal Partnership for Youth
Justice-involved youth experiencing mental or behavioral health issues receive on-site legal services through our Medical/Legal Partnership for Youth. A collaboration with mental health clinics, the Project works closely with providers to improve both health and legal outcomes, foster stability, and increase chances for successful reentry. The Project is funded by a Skadden Arps fellowship and by the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Clinic, which has contracted with us to have a Youth Represent paralegal on-site four days a week.
School Justice Project
Concerned with the high number of criminal summonses students are given and how many turn into arrest warrants because students do not make their court dates, Youth Represent will deliver our Know Your Rights workshops and comprehensive legal representation to New York City public high school students. The project is funded in part by the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.
Strive Future Leaders
Youth Represent is partnering with Strive, the national workforce development organization, to increase the capacity of its satellite sites nationwide to better serve system-involved youth. We are training staff in the collateral consequences of involvement in the criminal justice system and connecting them with local legal service providers to address the legal needs of their young program participants. The project is being funded through Strive by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Youth Reentry Network
The Youth Reentry Network is a project spearheaded by Friends of Island Academy. The Network brings together community-based organizations, like Youth Represent, and connects them with youth to reduce the time they spend on Rikers Island pending trial, as well as youth leaving Rikers, so they can successfully reenter society upon their release. The Network is funded in part by the NYC Department of Corrections.
