Trauma and social learning are the primary reasons kids do things that get them in jail. We can change both if we intervene early and consistently. ~Funda Yilmaz, Founder CIJ Prevention
“4,500 children are housed in adult jails and prisons on any given day in America” EJI
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We work to make sure things don't get there.
Image curtesy GPBNews "Can kids be scared straight?" *** |
“The U.S. is the only country in the world where kids as young as 13 have been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.” Equal Justice Initiative
As a general expectation, any long term separation from caregivers before the age of 10 is a traumatic experience for kids. PTSD has a unique way of impacting the physiology and the way we think about the world. Most of its effects are at the level of autonomic functioning, beyond our awareness. That's why, even though kids KNOW what they need to do in many situations, they continue to DO things that end up hurting them and their loved ones.
The feeling of unhappiness, dread, physiological experience of restlessness, the panic attacks, memory problems, obsessive thoughts are not always things kids can overcome simply with the power of thought. Especially when placed in adversarial environments like a jail, especially when placed in a jail designed for adults. |
48,043 kids were in juvenile jails in 2015, according to Child Trends.Our Mission:
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What We Do:We train community center staff, churches, school staff and all other child-serving organisations interested in helping at risk children. We offer simple solutions to common problems like oppositionality, aggression, and other conduct problems.
We also supplement the programming available in prisons with trauma-informed and age appropriate recreational programs such as art, music, dance, Tai Chi and meditation. |
Funda Yilmaz, LPCChief Executive Officer, FounderFunda believes that humans are essentially good. Through traumatic experiences, they learn to forget the love and joy they are born into and become less tolerant, more violent, more selfish. During her career, she has witnessed many children that were at the edge of incarceration pivot and create a better life for themselves.
Individual Affiliate of NCTSN, collaborator in multiple federal guidelines like the Judges Bench Cards and the Complex Trauma Treatment Guide, Funda has been serving children in various justice system settings since 2008. She's been training clinicians around the USA about trauma informed service provision since 2012. Currently, her work is focused on the provision of mind-body interventions through her private practice and through the CIJ Prevention Network. |
Support us to bring services to more locations!
We can stop the school to prison pipeline if we work together. Every dollar you donate will go to facilitating trainings in community centers, churches and schools to help at-risk students into more productive behavior choices.