No New Youth Prisons in Virginia

Take Action to Stop the Construction of a New Youth Prison in Virginia

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Governor McAuliffe and Virginia’s General Assembly are planning to spend nearly $40 million in taxpayer dollars to build a new prison for youth in Chesapeake. Putting young people in prison does not work and does not make our communities safer. There are more effective ways to hold young people accountable while preparing them for adulthood.

Call to Action to Stop the Construction of a New Youth Prison

Call or email your delegate and senator by April 20th and tell them:

“I oppose providing the Department of Juvenile Justice with money for the construction of a new youth prison in Chesapeake. The evidence shows that Virginia’s youth prisons don’t work for youth, families, or our communities. We spend over $140,000 to incarcerate our youth, but once they return home 3 out of 4 of them are re-convicted of a crime within 3 years. I believe more planning must be done and more feedback from the community must be collected to create a justice system that uses alternatives to the large youth prison model. “

Find your legislators’ contact information here.

Use our action alert to send a letter:  click here.

Print and send a “Call to Action” postcard: click here to download.

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Call attention to this issue on social media!

Here are some sample posts:

@delegate: No new youth prisons for Virginia. #prisonsdontwork #moreplanninglessprisons

@delegate:73% of Americans agree that youth can be taught to take responsibility for their actions without incarceration, do you? #prisonsdontwork #moreplanninglessprisons

@delegate: Its time to stop putting our kids behind walls, and start giving them ladders to success #ImproveDontImprison #prisonsdontwork #moreplanninglessprisons

 

For more information on the impact of youth prisons on kids visit: