Join us for an info session about Straight Ahead Ministries and how you can get involved through ABC. We will hear from the MA state coordinator Marc O’Neil about what it would look like to partner with boys youth DYS facility in Middleton to support and build relationships. Lunch will be provided!
From arrest to sentencing, racial and ethnic disparities are a defining characteristic of our criminal justice system. Not only does racial bias pervade the justice process; people of color also face disproportionately high rates of poverty, meaning they suffer from the justice system's unequal treatment of poor people. Black Americans, in particular, are disproportionately likely to be incarcerated and to receive the harshest sentences, including death sentences.
Most people in State Prisons were first arrested as youth, at age 18 or younger. This is often a traumatizing experience that increases the risk of re-arrest. Like many places of incarceration the Department of Youth Services probably goes unnoticed as do the people inside. Our mission at Anchor Bay is to be in these kinds of spaces that are a part of oppressive systems - to advocate for a population that is overlooked and unfairly represented and treated.
Straight aheads’ mission is as follows – Straight Ahead Ministries exists to see Jesus Christ transform the lives of justice-involved youth. Over 1 million youth are arrested every year in the US, with 500,000 sent to one of nearly 1,200 detention centers across the country. On any day 57,000 youth are serving a sentence in a facility - the juvenile justice equivalent of jail. Family relationships, community connections, education and employment are all interrupted and negatively impacted. We believe that this time of crisis can become the first step towards a transformed life.