Experience turned influential

Season two episode two of the Just-Us YOUth Talk Show was aired on Sunday, February 25, 2024. On this episode, we were joined by special guest Jeff Wallace. Wallace is an expert in youth welfare and criminal justice.  

Throughout the episode, Wallace talks about rehabilitation and the impact of privatization of the juvenile justice system. Touching on the many ways we as a community can help young people stay out of getting in trouble with the law and getting the most out of their potential. He also talks about how these facilities in which juveniles are held need to be held more accountable and more transparent with how they operate. 

Wallace took a little bit of time to discuss his time in the prison and juvenile system, and how it helped him grow into the man that he is today. Wallace spent six years in prison, four of those six years he spent in solitary confinement just after turning 17 years old. 

What is solitary confinement? 

Solitary confinement is one way of imprisoning a person who has been arrested in which they have little to no contact with others. The method is often used during pretrial to try and get a prisoner to confess. 

A full circle moment that Wallace discusses during the episode is that there was a time when he was working with juveniles in one of the facilities in which he was being held in. This kind of story can give hope to people that are going through what he went through, and hopefully inspire them to want to make a good impact. 

“There are so many different ways that we can work with youth, but the way that we can probably hurt them the worst is by placing them into a situation where they are now counted as stock or as cattle in a system that really counts them as cash product versus an individual that we need to pour into and give to.” 

To learn more about Jeff Wallce and his many projects, visit his website.