Youth Today
Youth Voices
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17.2KWhy Teens ‘Just Joking Around’ About Racism, Sexism, Homophobia Is So Dangerous
I live in a state of privilege. Wexford, Pa., and surrounding affluent suburbs are areas that run rampant with entitlement; mostly white...
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5.9KI’m Not an Immigrant But I Still Fear Deportation
Like most children, I never realized the tremendous impact my father’s values and culture would have on me. My mother was mainly...
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5.4KDayonn Davis Stole a Pair of Nikes. He’s Going to Prison for 5 Years. Why?
Dayonn Davis was 15 when he committed a crime that would get him tried in court as an adult. A Facebook sale...
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5.4KInsideOUT Writers: Community, Compassion, Multitudes
The Youth Today/InsideOUT Writers series these past two years has been a critical reflection on the impact of the American justice system...
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6.9KParole Limited My Ability, but Community Led Me to Success
I got released from the system about five years ago now, and my life has remained a consistent hustle. When I was...
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4.3KOur Lives Are At Stake
I won’t let you fill me up anymore. Your hatred is toxic and time consuming You taught me to run away and...
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6.1KThe Department of Child and Family Services Mostly Failed Me, But Still I Persist
I was in the Department of Child and Family Services foster care system for nine years of my life. It was my...
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3.5KDeclaration of Inner-Presence, From South Central Los Angeles
As kids we were told not to touch the stove or we’d get burned. A warning was enough for some, but others...
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3.3K#MeToo, Women’s Marches, Democrats in 2018: 2 Youth Mentors Talking
Recently, the two sat down for a conversation as two mentors in the field to assess some of the major developments in...
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2.3KHow Incarceration and Placements Affect Youths’ Mental Health
There’s been a lot of news about women abused by men in power lately, and I've been thinking about the girls I...
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3.8KNot a Foster Child, I Nearly Fell Through the Cracks Between Government and Family
When I turned 18, I thought the only thing that I needed to be happy and successful was to leave the home...
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6.6KMy ESL Journey: For Every Dark Night, There’s a Brighter Day
When I was 8 years old, my mom decided it was best for our family to move to this country: her, my...
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1.6KShooting for the Moon, Taking My Place Among the Stars
Anyone who truly knows me knows I'm not a very emotional person. They'll know I don't like expressing how I feel or...
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3.8KTeachers, Be Understanding With Your Students Who May Be Homeless
Sixth grade can be a tough time for pretty much anybody. It doesn’t help when your parents divorce right before the beginning...
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2.8KSchool Relationships Helped Me Harness Power of Perseverance to Learn English, Use My Voice
I came to the United States two years ago, absolutely terrified of speaking in English. I was depressed because I had left...
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3.3KA Thousand Cries For Help That Go Unanswered
My life seemed like something right out of a horror flick — and my mother — well, she could have won an...
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1.5KHIV Tried Me. It Lost: My First Year In College
“The pediatrician said you need to come to the office immediately,” my mom quivered over the phone. Hearing “immediately” commanded my heart...
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3.2K
Berkeley Bound
I remember the paralyzing fear I felt when I realized I was never going home to my father again. I would never...
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3.7KArt As Resilience and Another Form of Therapy
I worked at earning credits while I was inside juvenile hall, and in 2016 when I was released into placement in, I...
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2.9KLeft Behind
I wake up in the morning. It's too quiet for my taste. As I walk through the house I start getting flashbacks.
