Quwanisha Hines went from being a troubled youth to an aspiring public defender thanks to the “unconditional support” and “guidance” she received.
Hines was one of the people on a conference call to introduce RISE (Re-Invest in Supportive Environments) for Youth, a bipartisan statewide campaign that launched Thursday morning created to seek alternative paths for youth besides incarceration.
Those alternatives will provide the youth with “tremendous opportunity” to avoid incarceration and instead guide them toward community-based initiatives, said Legal Aide Justice Center Attorney Kate Duvall. She said that adolescents will still be “held accountable for their actions,” but also given the “opportunity to transform their lives” instead of sending them through the “correctional environments.”