My name isn\u2019t important. You can call me Kara. I\u2019m 15 years old, live in Clark County, and over the last two years, I\u2019ve been charged with two felonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I was 13, I stole my first car. At 14, I did it again. I won\u2019t pretend those weren\u2019t serious mistakes\u2014they were. But if all you hear is \u201ccriminal\u201d then you\u2019re missing most of my story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the time, my home life was unstable. I didn\u2019t feel safe or supported at home and was dealing with adult problems that I couldn\u2019t control. Feeling trapped, I didn\u2019t have the tools to cope or language to deal with it, so I avoided being home as much as possible. I wasn\u2019t trying to ruin my life; I was trying to escape what was happening around me at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That escape led me straight into the juvenile justice system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After my charges, I spent time in juvenile detention. People sometimes assume that time \u201csets kids straight.\u201d For me, it didn\u2019t. It wasn\u2019t good. I was more scared and less safe than ever.<\/em> Being locked up didn\u2019t fix what was going on at home. It didn\u2019t teach me how to manage my anger or stress. It just made everything feel heavier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What actually changed my life happened when I was kept in community and given support and supervision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was incredibly lucky. There was a waiting list for community-based services, and I happened to get a spot so I could get help. Through that, I gained access to the Boys & Girls Club and a therapeutic support program that worked with me in the community instead of locking me away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At first, I had three different therapists supporting me and court officers tracking me. We didn\u2019t just sit in an office and talk the whole time. Sometimes we got food, built Legos, or went to the library. It sounds small, but those moments mattered. They helped me trust adults again. They helped me learn how to calm down, make better choices, and focus on school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I improved, the level of support adjusted. One therapist stepped away, then another. Now, I meet with one therapist every other week. I also know that if I\u2019m ever in crisis, I can call for help instead of spiraling. That safety net made all the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I live with my grandma now. For the first time in a long time, my life feels stable. I go to school every day\u2014and I actually like it. My grades are good because I\u2019m staying on top of my work instead of giving up. I enjoy art, learning new things, watching movies, and baking at home. I\u2019ve made new friends who support where I\u2019m trying to go, even though it meant walking away from people I cared about before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m proud of myself for stopping, for taking responsibility, and for choosing a different path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what I wish lawmakers understood: even though I did mess up and got into bad stuff that I shouldn\u2019t have, it doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m a bad person. Just like any other kid, my past and my home life don\u2019t define me\u2014and they shouldn\u2019t define other kids either. What matters is what I\u2019m doing now and the future I\u2019m building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also matters how much our choices as a system cost\u2014both financially and humanly. It costs about hundreds of dollars a day to lock kids up. That money didn\u2019t make me safer. It didn\u2019t make my community safer. The support I received in the community cost far less and actually worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of the time, it\u2019s not kids just wanting to do stupid things. It\u2019s kids trying not to focus on what\u2019s going on at home and what they cannot control. When adults respond with punishment alone, they miss the chance to change the outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m not a statistic; I\u2019m a sophomore in high school who wants to graduate, get a job, and buy my own car. I\u2019m someone who made mistakes\u2014and then was given the chance to grow from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Community supervision didn\u2019t excuse my behavior. It gave me the tools to change it. I hope lawmakers choose to give more kids the same chance I was lucky enough to get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My name isn\u2019t important. You can call me Kara. I\u2019m 15 years old, live in Clark County, and over the last two years, I\u2019ve been charged with two felonies. When I was 13, I stole my first car. At 14, I did it again. I won\u2019t pretend those weren\u2019t serious mistakes\u2014they were. But if all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":4760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","color_schema":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-youth-justice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n