Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project

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Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project

YSRP works to keep children out of adult jails and prisons.

The Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project (YSRP) works to keep children out of adult jails and prisons, and to bring home people who were sentenced as children to life without parole (“Juvenile Lifers”).

05/14/2026

Sa’Bree still remembers the call. He was on his way home from school when Ms. Emily, a former YSRP attorney, reached out.

“She said she could help.”

At the time, everything was uncertain. Sa’Bree had never been involved in the criminal legal system. He was an honor roll student, working at Acme, and caring for his mother as she battled cancer. But life had dealt him more than most young people should have to carry. He had lost three siblings to gun violence in just fourteen months, and the weight of that grief took its toll.

When Sa’Bree came into contact with the system at 16, he was navigating trauma, loss, and depression, much like many young people we work with. Through YSRP’s advocacy, in partnership with his attorney, his case was ultimately decertified and moved out of the adult system.

That moment changed everything.

Given the chance to move forward, Sa’Bree did. He returned to school, graduated from Overbrook High, and went on to attend Kutztown University. Today, he is working full-time in a management training program at Acme, continuing to support his family and build a stable future.

This year, Sa’Bree was honored as one of YSRP’s first graduates at our 2026 Montgomery Celebration, a reflection of the hard work he has put in and the path he is building for himself.

Stories like Sa’Bree’s remind us what is possible when young people are met with support instead of punishment. With the right resources and opportunities, they do more than move forward. They thrive.

As part of our spring campaign, we are raising $10,000 for our Client-Partner Fund, which provides direct support to young people as they return home and build stability. If you are able, we invite you to make a gift and help create more stories like Sa’Bree’s.

https://givebutter.com/together-we-build-whats-possible-copy-onn5fu

05/12/2026

May 20th
6:00–8:00 PM

Join us at Triple Bottom Brewing Company for a happy hour in support of YSRP's Client-Partner Fund. Tickets are $25, and Triple Bottom will donate 20% of sales from a featured beer.

Triple Bottom is a longtime partner of YSRP, and several of our client-partners have participated in their apprenticeship program—making this a meaningful way to support both the fund and a community connection.

https://givebutter.com/yPmrXY

05/08/2026

Join YSRP for Rooftop Yoga Saturday (tomorrow) at 10:30 and May 12 from 6–8 PM 🌆🧘🏾‍♀️

Take in the view, move your body, and support YSRP! Proceeds from the event will benefit our client-partner fund.

https://www.bok-bar.com/happenings/rooftop-fitness

03/12/2026

When we talk to young people caught up in the system, they tell us exactly what they need: support and structure — not cages and punishment.

They are not problems to be solved. They are people with futures worth investing in.

Last month, advocates, legislators, and directly impacted community members came together to celebrate the passage of HB144, HB1936, and HB150 out of the Pennsylvania House — an important step toward a system that centers care, accountability, and opportunity.

As our Policy Director Margot said at the press conference: when we build power together, we can move mountains.

03/04/2026

Stay warm. Support YSRP.

Our limited-edition YSRP beanies are available for $25 while supplies last. Every purchase helps sustain our work alongside young people and families navigating the adult criminal legal system.

https://givebutter.com/Ogi1xG

12/31/2025

At a time when truth is being challenged and dignity is treated as optional, we are recommitting to what has always guided our work. We believe in the humanity of all people, the power of community, and that young people deserve care and not punishment.

If you believe in dignity, justice, and transformation, we invite you to give before midnight tonight. Every dollar donated allows us to continue this work, to show up for young people in courts, in community, and in coalitions.

Click the link in our bio to give today.

12/18/2025

Where does your donation go? Part 2

Curious about how individual donations fuel our work? YSRP staff the meaningful ways our donors support our work.

• $200 covers a round-trip visit to SCI Pine Grove so our team can meet with young people held across the state.
• $85 provides composition books for teens in our Know Your Rights program to write, draw, and express themselves.
• $80 helps purchase dress clothes so a young person can walk into court feeling confident and seen.
• $45–50 helps a young person secure their first state ID or driver’s license after coming home.
• $30 loads a vending card so we can share a meal during visits — something many young people rarely get access to.
• $20 buys a prayer rug for a young Muslim client-partner who wants to practice their faith while incarcerated.
• $10 provides transportation support, often the difference between making an appointment or missing one.

These investments create care, connection, and opportunity — the building blocks of healing and growth.

Check out the link in our bio to donate!

12/11/2025

Today, Marcus is finally home, reunited with Marcedes, Johnny, and all of his family and friends. Freedom looks exactly like what he hoped for: breathing fresh air, walking where he wants, and being surrounded by the people he loves.
Still, returning after decades inside brings its own challenges. “Everything moves so fast out here,” he says. “Everything is on the phone, and everything is more expensive. I’m still learning and reaching out for help when I need it. I get frustrated sometimes, but I’m hanging in there.”

Rebuilding daily life together has been joyful and tender, but also an adjustment for everyone. “Everyone had their own lives,” Marcus says. “I didn’t want to disrupt that. I’m figuring out where I fit. Sometimes I want more time, but I understand they have their routines too.”

That commitment to growth also shapes the work Marcus is building today. Drawing on everything he learned about resilience and self-belief through his years of incarceration, he founded Always Create Goals (ACG) — an organization rooted in creativity, mobility, and economic empowerment. ACG reflects Marcus’s belief that people pushed to the margins deserve real tools to move forward and build stability. Through transportation services using his Sprinter van and 12–14 passenger vans, creative design work, and educational programming, ACG helps people transform adversity into opportunity. Marcus’s mission is to inspire others to set goals, build skills, and pursue growth with confidence.

For Marcedes, seeing Marcus home is seeing hope made tangible. For Johnny, it is the joy of finally getting to play basketball and football with his dad. For Marcus, it is the continuation of a long and remarkable story rooted in resilience, love, and transformation.

As Johnny once wrote to the judge, “My dad makes my mom smile like nobody can. That is enough for me.”

Now home, they are building the life they have been writing together for decades — a life grounded in care and possibility. And through ACG, Marcus is extending that possibility outward, helping others create the futures they imagine for themselves.

Be sure to follow

12/10/2025

Marcus’s Story: Part 1

Marcus’s world shifted when the Supreme Court ruled in Montgomery that children sentenced to die in prison must receive a meaningful opportunity for release. “I didn’t think it was real,” he remembers. “Older guys who had come home were supporting me and telling me to get ready.”

His hope was rooted in the life waiting for him. Years earlier, when Marcedes was a Temple student and Marcus was a teen who always asked about her day, a quiet friendship formed. After Marcus was arrested at 17 and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, Marcedes reached out.

Their letters and visits became a steady source of connection, and over time that friendship deepened into love. As Marcus prepared for release, reuniting with Marcedes and her son Johnny became one of his strongest motivations.

Marcus partnered with YSRP’s Director of Mitigation, Annie Ruhnke, and his attorney to prepare for resentencing. Together, they created a mitigation report that reflected his humanity, his growth, and his vision for life at home, while YSRP Reentry Coordinator Don “Ike” Jones helped him plan for the transition back to his community.

“YSRP is my family,” Marcus says. “They helped me prepare, helped me plan, and supported me through the whole journey. They didn’t make it about them. It was really about what I needed.”

When asked what people should remember about the children who were sentenced to die in prison, Marcus speaks from experience:

“We are still human beings. We were kids, trying to figure out who we were in the worst circumstances. The strength, the resilience, the mental toughness — it was always in us. We just didn’t have the resources or tools to grow. And now we’re showing that we were supposed to be here this whole time.”

The leadership and contributions of Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Lifer community are part of Montgomery’s legacy — a legacy of possibility, dignity, and healing.

Your support helps ensure that all of our client-partners receive the care, connection, and resources they need to heal and thrive as they return to their communities.

12/03/2025

Thank you to everyone who showed up for Giving Tuesday! Your presence, your generosity, and the moments we shared in the office reminded us how much this community means — and how much strength we draw from each other.

We’re so close to reaching our $20,000 goal. Thanks to the board match, every dollar is doubled. We've extended the deadline to this Friday because we only need $2,000 more to unlock the full match!

If you haven’t given yet or want to help us close the gap, now is the moment. Your support fuels care, advocacy, and hope for young people!

https://givebutter.com/i5W4p3

Address

Philadelphia, PA

Telephone

+12677038046

Website

http://ysrp.org/

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