Describe your experience with the juvenile justice system.

I spent approximately three and a half years in the juvenile justice system as a youth. My mother was absent for most of my life, and my father struggled with drugs and alcohol and was extremely abusive. In addition, my neighborhood was plagued by violence, drugs, and poverty. Prior to my troubles with the law, I struggled with marijuana addiction, alcohol poisoning, and brief homelessness. Unfortunately, I was caught up in that cycle which led me into the juvenile justice system. While incarcerated, I lost numerous friends to gun violence and many more to the adult prison system.

However, the juvenile justice system turned out to be the best thing that happened in my life as a youth. I met some caring mentors who took an interest in me and helped me to change my life around. I was inspired by attorneys and staff at the facility where I stayed while I was incarcerated and by other individuals I encountered during my darkest days. They supported me through everything and continue to do so today. As a matter of fact, I’m very close friends with them to this day. Those mentors helped me to realize that there is more to life than the negativity that surrounded me as I was growing up. Eventually, with help from the teachers at the facility, I changed my life around.