Books Not Bars

2008-10-22T15:31:37Z

If you really want to make an impact on our world, change the way children are educated. Help change the way young adults perceive the world before they become the decision makers. If you really want to get 14 year olds excited about voting in four years, give them a chance to become complete members of their communities before they become jaded and convinced their voice doesn’t count.

The “school to prison pipeline” - describes a trend in schools all over the country. Fed by “zero tolerance” policies, schools are increasingly relying on harsh punishment and more often than not – law enforcement, as a means of disciplinary action. Today, children are more likely to go to jail for non-violent offenses than they were thirty years ago. Every child should be given the opportunity to rehabilitate and learn. We cannot continue to incarcerate children for non-violent offenses.

Books Not Bars is a non-profit grassroots organization in California that works to redirect funds from youth incarceration to youth opportunities. They are working to close California's abusive, expensive youth prisons and replace them with rehabilitation centers and community-based programs.

Get involved with Books not Bars OR go to Idealist.org and find a youth based organization to get involved with in your city, state or country.

Let’s stop giving up on “trouble makers”. Some of them are going to make great activists and leaders one day.

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Violence, Abuse & Neglect in the California Youth Authority

2008-10-24T21:29:34Z

Prison should be a place for punishment but also rehabilitation, especially when it comes to children and teens. The only way we can hope to change the cycle of violence and imprisonment is to help these young people break the cycle themselves. The California Youth Authority is in desperate need of reform. It has become a place where teens are neglected, physically, mentally and sexually abused, live in abhorrent conditions and are deprived of their right to be able to make the changes in their lives they desperately need to make. California needs to close these facilities and open smaller regionally based rehabilitation facilities to accommodate teens and help them become members active members in our world.

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cya at Brave New Films

Books Not Bars

Violence, Abuse & Neglect in the California Youth Authority