Xocheezy* is an 18-year-old foster youth who came of age in California’s juvenile justice system. That might have been avoided had her family ever been connected to housing support.
It is not rare for justice-involved youth to have this kind of history with the child welfare system. A recent study in Los Angeles County found that four out of five probation-involved youth had at least one report of child abuse or neglect on file.
Today, Xocheezy is a sociology student at a community college and a staff member at a youth justice advocacy organization. As part of that work, she regularly returns to the same facility where she was once incarcerated to empower young people detained there. Xocheezy has also had the chance to participate in local juvenile justice committees and has even traveled across the country to learn from other organizers.
Ten months ago, though, things were very different.
[For more on this story by Xocheezy, as told to Katarina Kabick, go to https://chronicleofsocialchang...tice-crossover/32521]
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