With support from Vera programs, New York City has seen a 70 percent drop in girls’ annual detention.

John,

If a girl runs away because she’s afraid to go home, should she be incarcerated? If she misses school because she couldn’t find a safe place to sleep the night before, should she be brought to juvenile court?

Far too many girls and gender-expansive youth who are experiencing abuse and homelessness are incarcerated “for their own safety,” but incarceration does not protect them. Correctional facilities are not designed with safety or support in mind.

We need to find ways to support girls rather than criminalize them—and Vera has solutions for how to do that.

Through our Ending Girls’ Incarceration (EGI) initiative, Vera has created plans that support the safety and well-being of girls and gender-expansive youth, address the root causes of their incarceration, and permanently close the doors to their juvenile detention and placement facilities. And it’s working: With support from Vera programs, New York City has seen a 70 percent drop in girls’ annual detention.

Join us to say: Legal system involvement will never be the solution to meeting the needs of girls and gender-expansive youth.

In solidarity,
Vera Institute of Justice

PAID FOR BY VERA INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE

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