When we first met "Tyrell," he was a high school senior struggling with his mental health and disconnected from school. He was arrested for stealing his uncle's car and crashing it. Here's how we helped him to enroll in college and improve his mental health.

“There are so many existing, false, and damaging narratives that need to be confronted,” says Cierra Chenier, who recently started in LCCR’s brand-new Strategic Storyteller role. “There are also many positive narratives about Black youth that need to be uplifted.” As the Strategic Storyteller, Cierra will be leading LCCR’s efforts to combat the harmful narratives surrounding Black youth.

We are proud to report that Shon Williams, LCCR's Reentry Specialist, was recently accepted into the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s Emerging Leaders Program. This program is designed to cultivate leadership skills and systems-level thinking among nonprofit leaders with a focus on sustainability and community impact.

On Wednesday, August 28th, LCCR and Daughters Beyond Incarceration decided to take a different approach in raising awareness about juvenile justice by hosting a youth justice town hall. Unlike the legislative session recaps of the past, this event was focused on engaging the community and shedding light on recent changes in Louisiana's juvenile justice system, with a particular focus on how these changes will affect young people. 

It's been another big year for LCCR. We served more than 700 kids between New Orleans and East Baton Rouge, rolled out our new Second Chances Youth Reentry Project, scored two legislative wins on the vital records front, and welcomed CJ McCollum for a visit. Click here to read all about what your support helped us achieve in FY 2024.

In February, the state legislature gathered for a special session aimed at decreasing “surging” crime. Children were a specific target of this session, which saw a repeal of the Raise the Age law. Louisiana is now the first state ever to roll back this reform and return to prosecuting all 17-year-old children as adults.

WOW! Just Wow! On March 21, LCCR welcomed more than 230 guests to our annual Celebration for Children’s Rights event. Collectively, we raised a record-smashing $106,483 to fund our work with arrested and incarcerated youth in Louisiana. We can think of no better way to spend a beautiful (if slightly rainy) spring evening than to come together with so many of our friends and supporters. Thank you for joining us and making this our biggest Celebration ever!

Join us on Thursday, March 21st at our annual benefit event -- the Celebration for Children’s Rights -- as we celebrate our successes and come together to make Louisiana a better place for all children. We will also be presenting our Calogero Champion of Justice Award to Ubuntu Village for its incredible work helping families advocate for themselves and their children in New Orleans’ juvenile legal system.

Shon Williams has worked at LCCR the past five years, and prior to that, he was incarcerated for 26 years for a crime he committed as a teenager. As our new Reentry Specialist, Shon is now using that lived experience to guide young people through their first steps back into the community after leaving prison.

CJ McCollum, the Pelicans’ starting shooting guard and president of the National Basketball Player Association, stopped by LCCR's office and the city's juvenile jail to learn more about the juvenile legal system landscape in New Orleans. Here's what McCollum says he learned through his visit with our staff and New Orleans' incarcerated youth.