Legislative Advocacy and Youth Leaders
Our Stoneleigh Youth Advocacy Fellows reflect on why community partnership and youth voice are essential components of effective advocacy.
Youth leaders and community-based organizations play a vital role in transforming the juvenile legal and family policing systems by centering lived experiences, community advocacy, and collective action. Across the country, young people, particularly those directly impacted by the foster and juvenile legal system, are organizing to challenge punitive policies, advocate for rehabilitative approaches, and promote systems that prioritize equity, accountability, and dignity.
Youth leaders engage in advocacy in many ways. We use storytelling to influence policymakers and lawmakers by sharing our lived experiences, highlighting the realities of system involvement. We also organize campaigns, build coalitions, and collaborate with community members to advocate for policy reform and the ultimate abolition of harmful systems. Through public education and awareness efforts, youth leaders help inform communities and inspire other young people to become advocates, organizers, and leaders. Additionally, we create petitions, participate in legislative advocacy, and work to hold policymakers accountable for decisions that impact youth and families.
There are many reasons why young people who have been directly affected by the juvenile legal and foster systems become involved in movements for change. Many of us seek access to information that helps us better understand the systems that have impacted our lives, including how those systems operate and the ways they have disproportionately harm Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. Others are motivated by a desire to prevent future generations from experiencing similar harms. By sharing our experiences and advocating for reform, system-impacted youth work to create more supportive, equitable, and restorative systems that promote positive outcomes for ourselves and other young people.
My experience at Juvenile Law Center as a Stoneleigh Youth Advocacy Fellow has shown me the significant role that formerly incarcerated and directly impacted young people can play in advocacy, organizing, and systems change. Through this fellowship, I have had the opportunity to use my lived experience to inform policy discussions, advocate for youth justice reforms, and help create pathways for young people to have a voice in decisions that affect their lives.
Legislative advocacy is a valuable tool for engaging youth leaders because it gives young people the opportunity to directly influence policies that affect their lives and communities. By participating in activities such as meeting with elected officials, providing testimony at public hearings, organizing awareness campaigns, and advocating for policy reforms, youth develop leadership, public speaking, critical thinking, and civic engagement skills. One of the key initiatives I have been involved in is the Debt Free Justice campaign, which focuses on abolishing juvenile fees and fines and on creating a more equitable and supportive justice system for youth and young adults. Through this work I have collaborated with advocates, policymakers, and community members to develop and support legislation aimed at reducing the financial burdens that involvement in the justice system imposes on young people and their families. I have had the opportunity to visit the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and meet with policymakers to discuss proposed legislation, share personal experiences, and explain why these reforms are necessary. These conversations are critical because they help decision makers understand the real-life impact of policies on young people and encourage them to support and advance legislation that promotes justice, healing, and opportunity. Being able to speak directly with elected officials has shown me the power of youth voice and the importance of ensuring that those most impacted by systems are included in shaping solutions.
Additionally, throughout my own advocacy work, I have had the opportunity to participate in efforts focused on raising awareness about youth incarceration, probation practices, and the impact of electronic monitoring on young people. Through my involvement with YEAH Philly and YASP, I have collaborated with community members, advocates, and policymakers to amplify youth voices and promote more equitable approaches to youth justice. These experiences have demonstrated that when young people are equipped with the tools and knowledge to engage in legislative advocacy, they can become powerful agents of change, helping to shape policies that create safer, healthier and more just communities.
My experiences have strengthened my leadership, advocacy, research, and organizing skills, and reaffirmed my belief that directly impacted youth are not only experts in their own experiences but also powerful agents of change
