Restorative art diversion programme allows young people to exit criminal legal system
From information from Young New Yorkers
In 2011, Rachel Barnard, architecture student at Columbia University, was awarded the Percival & Naomi Goodman Fellowship, a $20,000 annual prize given to a project of "social significance." Rachel's idea was to work at the intersection of art and the criminal legal system and this eventually became a non-profit - Young New Yorkers (YNY).
Young New Yorkers’ programmes allow young people to exit the criminal legal system, have their cases dismissed and sealed, and avoid a life-long criminal record.
In addition, their graduate programmes offer long-term opportunities for young people to transform the criminal justice system through advocacy forums, public art exhibitions, and other events. These events often take place in courtrooms where participants can engage criminal justice professionals and leaders and advocate for a more humane criminal legal system.
In ten years, they have successfully diverted more than 1,400 young people away from jail and other sanctions.
"Young New Yorkers not only changes the lives of the young people who get involved in the criminal legal system by offering them a second chance, but they also give a fresh perspective to those prosecuting cases involving these young people. We need community programs like Young New Yorkers that can foster these relationships." Shakiva Pierre, Director Of Adolescent Diversion Kings County District Attorney's Office.
The Restorative Arts Diversion (RAD) programme consists of one-, two-, or three-day structured restorative art sessions. RAD sessions are taught by teaching artists including YNY graduates and other credible messengers who have experience with the criminal legal system. During sessions, participants create aspirational self-portraits in which they collage photographs of themselves that represent their personal strengths and goals.
RAD programmes culminate in courtroom exhibitions, where they invite police officers, judges, and lawyers, to “re-meet” participants in a new context, and see young New Yorkers beyond their rap sheets. For the young people, this is an opportunity to use their art to advocate for criminal legal reform and be seen for their many facets, strengths, and aspirations.
YNY organizes RAD workshops for approximately 300 participants each year.
Another programme is Re-imagining and Recreating Experiences (R.A.R.E) which gives opportunity to explore time, space, energy, and community, through the transformative practice of art. YNY’s teaching artists use the power of art and art-making, to help participants visualize the racial, social, and economic implications of their arrest, further contextualizing the circumstances influencing the decisions leading to their current charge.
Participants learn from leading artists in the field of contemporary arts and use their voices to develop a cumulative art piece to display in a public exhibition with our community partners, Museum of Modern Art MoMA PS1.
Upon completing their assignments, YNY invites participants to join graduate programmes. Graduate programmes provide a community for grads to deepen their understanding of restorative practices, engage in various art projects, and develop new ideas for programmes. They build and engage young people’s personal, professional and mentorship skills, such as public-speaking, advocacy, program design, and more over the long-term. YNY grads are paid for their participation and sharing their wisdom that informs our work.
The graduate programmes engage approximately 50 young people each year.
In addition, YNY offers a paid Fellowship to active grads who have demonstrated a long-term commitment to and passion for transforming the criminal legal system. Fellows engage with a formal curriculum and meet monthly to discuss crucial issues within the criminal legal system, and what it means to be leaders in their communities. Fellows also co-facilitate RAD sessions providing peer mentorship for new participants, and helping new them to investigate their personal choices while advocating for legal systems change.
Their current and first-ever YNY Fellowship cohort is leading the creation of two youth-lead advocacy groups addressing criminal legal reform and gun violence. There are currently 12 YNY Fellows.
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From information from Young New Yorkers, 03/04/2024