Open City Advocates works with youth whom the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services has removed from their families. 100% are youth of color, most have been in the child welfare system, and all are at too high a risk for being jailed, harmed, or killed by street violence. Trapped and often lost in the system, they rarely receive the trauma-informed care and reentry services they deserve. Open City is their zealous advocate. Working with youth in the deepest end of the juvenile system, staff and mentor-advocates visit weekly, develop a relationship of trust and goals for reentry, and represent clients in disciplinary hearings. Open City also spearheads systemic reform efforts to end the revolving door of the juvenile and criminal legal systems, safeguard and expand due process protections, and encourage the individualized, trauma-responsive services that court-involved youth both need and deserve.
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