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.

When we first met "Amaya" as a high school sophomore, she had already been sentenced to 10 years in one of the state's most infamous youth prisons. Our team knew that for her safety and well-being, we needed to get Amaya out of that facility. Here's how we helped her on her journey to freedom.

At an early age, "Joshua" was forced to be the "adult" of the household--getting his younger siblings off to school and coming up with money for groceries. He stopped going to school, fell in with a bad crowd, and began committing armed robberies--resulting in his imprisonment for 7 years. Here's how we helped.

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.

In September, a judge ordered the removal of incarcerated youth from Angola. Shortly after, the state announced it would end its contract with the Ware Youth Center. While we support both these moves, we remain concerned about conditions for Louisiana's incarcerated youth.

LCCR has started a book club for the children incarcerated at the New Orleans juvenile jail. Through it, kids are choosing the books we read and leading the group discussions. Incarceration may restrict a young person’s body, but books allow their mind to be free.

We first met “Campbell” as a 10th grader arrested on a simple burglary charge. After the devastating loss of his older brother, Campbell ran into trouble in school, resulting in his expulsion. When his school district gave up on him, his mother came to us for help. Here’s how we got Campbell back on track.

For generations, the U.S. has overly relied on prosecution and incarceration as the primary forms of accountability, but with lackluster results. Given the high cost and poor track record of punitive punishments, LCCR and other advocates are pushing for alternatives to the traditional prosecution and incarceration routes. Today we explore the concept of Credible Messengers.

It's been another huge year for LCCR. We served more than 600 kids between New Orleans and East Baton Rouge, defended against a rollback of the Raise the Age law, and welcomed Kristen Rome to the Co-Executive Director role. Click here to read all about what your support helped us achieve in FY 2023.

We first met “Renisha” as a 12th grader with a three-year-old little boy of her own. She had been arrested on charges of aggravated assault, which threatened to upend her and her child's lives. She wanted more than anything to give her son the stable life that she never had herself. Here's how LCCR helped.