Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project Receives Transformative Grant from Chicago Beyond to Expand Support for Young People and Their Families

The Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project (YSRP) is honored to announce a generous grant from Chicago Beyond, which will allow YSRP to expand its support for children who are charged as adults in Philadelphia and surrounding counties. This investment will deepen our work alongside our client-partners, shift harmful narratives about young people, and meet emerging needs.

For the past decade, YSRP has used its innovative, holistic case advocacy model to keep kids out of adult jails and prisons and to support people who were sentenced as children to life in prison without parole in returning home. This grant will allow the organization to strengthen reentry support and address one of the most significant barriers to successful reentry: safe and stable housing.

Changing the Narrative & Elevating Lived Experience

Chicago Beyond’s investment will also enable YSRP to deepen our work with the Speakers Bureau, which provides a platform for client-partners to share their experiences and advocate for systemic change. Through storytelling, we will challenge the myths and misconceptions that fuel punitive policies and work toward a system that sees young people as capable of growth and transformation.

Additionally, YSRP will continue to provide spaces to process the trauma of incarceration through the Intergenerational Healing Circle, a space designed to foster connection, reconciliation, and healing among individuals directly impacted by the adult criminal legal system. This initiative builds on our commitment to creating opportunities for reflection, restoration, and collective action.

YSRP Executive Director Bianca van Heydoorn: “We are deeply grateful to Chicago Beyond for recognizing the power of investing in young people and their families. At a time of such uncertainty, this funding motivates us to press on through the challenges and dream into existence a world where young people have the resources and support needed to thrive.”

Media Contact:
Jessika Brock
Director of Development & Communications
Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project
jbrock@ysrp.org