Avenues for Justice
100 Centre Street, Room 1541
New York, NY 10013
info@avenuesforjustice.org
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I tell my children that there is always a solution to a problem, you just have to find it. I came across a variety of women leaders who are embodying that very mindset, but on a bigger-picture level by building innovative solutions to help solve larger social issues.
These innovators are reimagining how to turn campuses into community hubs after college closings, let consumers use purchasing power to drive gender equality, create community-based alternatives to solve for youth incarceration, and enable safer product design to block financial abuse and protect survivors. Here are five women to watch who are blazing new paths and driving solutions for positive change.
Today there are more than a million people incarcerated in the United States, which—despite those levels dropping in the last 20 years—remains more than in any other country in the world, according to the World Population Review. Moreover, 52% of youth get detained or incarcerated for non-violent offenses (think: damaging others’ property, disturbing public order, or running away from home), reports The Annie E. Casey Foundation. Incarceration may not be an effective solution for crime, given that in many states up to 80% of the youth who are incarcerated are rearrested within three years of release, finds The Council of State Governments Justice Center.
Avenues for Justice (AFJ), one of the first alternative-to-incarceration for youth in the country, provides youth ages 13 to 24 years old with free court advocacy, as well as community centers offering safe spaces for youth to go for education, workforce development, and mental health support. Last year, nearly 600 youth participants attended their HIRE Up workshops that focus on job readiness.
“These are young people who come from communities who lack resources in terms of employment opportunities, adequate schools and education, and proper healthcare, as well as a lack of mental health care,” says Elizabeth Frederick, executive director at AJF, who has been working in criminal, social, and juvenile justice for 20 years. “We have to address the needs of these young people, and provide a continuum of care.”
The program has proven to be effective: On average, 94% of AFJ’s court-involved participants are not reconvicted of a new crime within three years of starting the program. Not only does the program have a track record for keeping people out of prison, it also saves taxpayers money: It costs taxpayers $8,900 to put a young person through AJF’s programing for one year, versus half a million dollars to incarcerate that same young person.
“Then what happens when [that young person] eventually gets out? They go back into this cycle of the criminal justice system, because they have not been empowered or equipped with solutions to turn their lives around,” says Frederick. “Our recidivism rates are low because we don’t put a stipulation on how long we work with a young person. To really course correct effectively, we must be in touch with them for at least a year.”
Another factor contributing to the effectiveness of AFJ is that it builds community through personal connections. Frederick has helped strengthen AFJ’s presence across all five boroughs of New York City while keeping its heart hyper local.
“All 12 of us who work at AFJ live in the same communities as our young people,” says Frederick. “We’re right there with them, so we understand what our youth are going through. What we do at Avenues for Justice is we go beyond statistics to tell a story. It’s an individual story of young people, one young person at a time.”
