CURRENT AGE: 15
GRADE 7
YOUTH JUSTICE COALITION
Youth Justice Coalition
Los Angeles, CA
Maritza Galvez, 17, was introduced to the California justice system at age 12, when her mother was incarcerated. During that difficult time she found out about the Youth Justice Coalition from a friend.
The Youth Justice Coalition works to end mass incarceration of youth and to end inequality in the justice system stemming from race, nationality and class. Some of the YJC’s members have served time in detention centers or prisons while others have friends or family who have been involved in the legal system.
One of YJC’s bigger projects is trying to stop prosecutors from trying youth as adults in court. The group also is committed to seeing that youth detained in adult prisons receive the education, mental health, and substance abuse counseling that they need.
Galvez works as a youth organizer for the Youth Justice Coalition part time and attends the coalition’s free high school. Though her mother’s case was dropped and she was released from prison, Maritza found she really liked the work she was doing and wanted to continue. She didn’t want the next generation to go through the same experience she did.
How are youth involved in YJC?
The core youth organizers group is called the LOBOS. It stands for Leading Our Brothers and sisters Out of the System. We are the ones that organize and coordinate upcoming actions and events. We mobilize our community and our youth center. We are the voice of our organization. You can find us at our office working on the 50-Mile March 4 Respect (we march 50 miles each year demanding respect for all youth behind bars) or you can find us meeting with an elected official talking about alternatives to incarceration.
What are you currently working on?
We have many campaigns and one of our campaigns right now is Stop the Killings, which basically consists of getting more gang intervention workers on our streets. In California, we have these maximum security juvenile detention centers that are called California Youth Authorities, and because of the work that the YJC, along with other youth organizations and juvenile justice organizations, have done and the lawsuits that were brought about because of the conditions, we’ve actually reduced the population by 50 percent.
What has been your greatest challenge as a youth organizer?
It’s hard sometimes as a youth organizer … because of the simple fact that ageism exists, and because people seem to believe that just because you are younger, you don’t know what you’re talking about. But the truth is that my experiences are my experiences, and even though I’m young I know what I’m saying.
What do you consider your biggest success?
We’ve had many successes, but I think that the day we have the biggest success will be the day we actually start building community centers in our community, the day we actually have alternatives to incarceration in neighborhoods. When we start focusing on youth development instead of incarceration, that’ll be the day.
Copyright Y-Press 2009