Illinois JJM
On any given day, nearly 60,000 youth under the age 18 are incarcerated in juvenile jails and prisons in the United States. Youth who have been detained or incarcerated are more likely to experience trauma such as physical and sexual violence, mental health issues, and even death. However, we believe strong positive relationships can make all the difference. This is both in and out of juvenile justice facilities.
Youth For Christ’s (YFC) Juvenile Justice Ministry (JJM) is well equipped to come alongside youth involved in the juvenile justice system. With that said, this is to provide loving, godly relationships during such pivotal moments in their lives. YFC’s JJM pursues thousands of young people trapped in the justice system each year in a variety of juvenile justice settings. For instance, detention centers, correctional facilities, group homes, residential treatment centers, emergency shelters, or courts are all justice settings. However, YFC’s JJM wants to make them feel seen, heard, and valued.
Stateline YFC’s Juvenile Justice Ministry Director is JR Flannigan. Flannigan is on the frontlines in juvenile justice facilities, reaching young people stuck in the incarceration cycle. Over the past few years, Flannigan noticed a significant change in the youth he spoke to.
Open Ears
“There has been a huge rise in gang activity in our area. So many youths are joining local gangs in order to keep up with their friends or feel ‘cool,’” Flannigan said. “‘RIP’ doesn’t mean ‘rest in peace’ anymore — it means ‘revenge is promise.’ So many have been gunned down due to gang violence. With that said, their friends are joining rival gangs to avenge their deaths. I have attended eight funerals in the past two months — four of which I’ve had to eulogize. It’s just a vicious cycle that these kids get caught up in.”
Flannigan’s solution to this frightening trend in today’s youth is straightforward.
“Young people struggling with these heavy issues just need an opportunity to say what’s on their mind to someone who will listen.” Flannigan says, “Giving the youth that opportunity to be able to pour out their struggles without being judged makes all the difference in the world. We really want to empower youth to use their voices. I think sometimes you have to be able to express where you are in order to get the proper help. Without a safe space to speak about what’s on their hearts, young people entrenched in the justice system turn to alcohol, drugs, and more gang violence.”
If You Can Dream It, You Can Achieve It
Through YFC, Flannigan is working to bridge the gap and show youth stuck in this system that there is hope.
Flannigan said, “It all comes back to Christ. When we go into the detention centers or places like that, the youth see something different about us and want that life for themselves. They see the light of Christ within us. This helps them start forming relationships that are different from anything else they’ve ever had before. Rather than being stuck in their tragedy, JJM kids become open to seeing Christ intervene in their own story and begin imagining an entirely different future for themselves.
“I often take youth who have been incarcerated and bring them to an environment they’ve never been before. That could be nice restaurants, skyscrapers, or even baseball games. Often, once they see life behaving in a way they’ve never experienced before, they start to think, ‘I want this one day.’ I always tell them, ‘If you can dream it, you can achieve it.’ Some of them have never imagined life beyond the next week. However, having a loving adult encourage them to do something big with their lives — a life filled with Christ they could never imagine before — makes all the difference in the world.”