YSRP Co-Directors Publish Op-Ed in Inquirer

On February 28, 2018, The Inquirer ran an op-ed by YSRP Co-Directors Lauren Fine and Joanna Visser Adjoian. In it, they discuss YSRP’s development of the Pennsylvania JLWOP Reentry Navigator, a new online tool that we have developed to assist juvenile lifers coming home from prison after decades with locating the resources they need to support their reentry.

Resentencing and parole decision-makers are particularly interested in the supports and plans that a juvenile lifer has in place for when he or she returns to the community, and the Navigator can help locate them.

As for the origins of the Navigator, Ms. Fine and Ms. Visser Adjoian say:

The need for the Navigator grew out of training we conducted inside of nearly every prison in the state with juvenile lifers. We asked what concerns they had about reentering society, and what questions they had about navigating life on the outside. The Navigator responds directly to these questions and concerns, and now exists as a resource to support folks planning to return home, as well as those who have already returned home.

The Navigator is also useful for attorneys and mitigation specialists working with juvenile lifers and their loved ones and supporters to prepare for their return home.