Bre's Testimony

Hello, my name is Bre. I am 17 years old. I have been in seven different placements since I was 12 years old. This is my first year working with Juveniles for Justice at the Juvenile Law Center. I got involved with J4J because I heard I could verbally advocate, and I’ve been a Juvenile, so I know how the system is, and if I can have a say so in changing it, then I want to. 

The very first time I was arrested for running away, I was taken to a mental hospital. I felt safe at the hospital, but I was under medication the whole time. If there was any sort of conflict, they would always choose to sedate me. 

The second time I was arrested, it was a mistake. I let my anger get the best of me. Me and the police officer both could have done better, but I was immediately placed from that experience. We both could have deescalated. We both played a part in it, but I’m the only one that paid the consequences. I was 14 years old. I feel like the cop should have de-escalated the situation. He approached me with an angry attitude, which wasn’t helpful. How can you approach anger with anger? The cop could have talked to me to de-escalate the situation. Arrest should not have been the first option. More steps could have been taken so that everything didn’t have to occur the way that it occurred.

When I was placed after that experience, being in placement showed me that nowhere was safe. Staff was allowing the other kids to bully me, so I ran away. There was always a lot of fighting. Especially with a lot of females in one house. My sense of safety was gone. I stayed in my room a lot of the time and just read books.

I learned about the grievance procedures in a more disciplinary setting. I didn’t file any grievances because I didn’t believe that anything would actually be done. I know how long it takes to go through the chain of command, and it would have been dismissed before anything was one. There also should be more staff in placement facilities. Staff should not be outnumbered by the children. There were limited staff members and they lack skills in working with kids. They didn’t know how to deescalate situations and a lot of times when the kids would get upset, the staff would too.

This is why the ombudsperson position should be created for the city of Philadelphia. Having an Ombudsperson would make these facilities safer. It would allow the youth to build healthy relationships with staff that are helpful for growth & healing. Thank you for listening to my story and I hope you have an understanding of what is really going on and that you will help make a change. 

Banner photo credit - Emkay Lim via Unsplash