Youth, parents, youth justice advocates, elected officials, and public defender organizations gathered in Harlem this week in celebration of Youth Justice Action Month to share their vision of youth justice and community safety.

The groups are calling for the passage of three pieces of critical legislation that would provide a developmentally appropriate response to young New Yorkers entangled in the criminal legal system:

The #Right2RemainSilent: Children’s Early Access to Counsel legislation would ensure that all young New Yorkers consult with a lawyer before they can waive their right to remain silent and be interrogated by police.

The Youth Justice and Opportunities Act would provide opportunities for youth and emerging adults through age 25 to receive age-appropriate sentences, including diversion and alternatives to incarceration, and to have their cases sealed so that they can pursue education, employment, housing, and other opportunities.

The Youth Justice Innovation Fund would direct $50 million to community-based organizations to provide a continuum of services from prevention and early intervention to alternatives to detention, placement, and incarceration for youth aged 12 through 25.

“Every year these bills are not passed, more and more young New Yorkers are removed from their communities and funneled into a complex, costly, and overburdened criminal legal system,” said Dawne Mitchell, Chief Attorney of The Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice.

“This legislation will help to reduce the number of vulnerable young people who are incarcerated in the kinds of conditions that make it nearly impossible for them to access the counseling, schooling, and medical treatment needed to help advance their futures,” she continued. “True public safety is not achieved through locking people up, but rather by investing in the tools that allow all young New Yorkers to thrive.”