A coalition of youth and advocates recently converged on the Washington state capitol in Olympia for Criminal Justice Advocacy Day, elevating the urgency for transformative systemic reform. Fueled by lived experience and a commitment to justice, the groups, including the Freedom Project and Civil Survival, engaged with key lawmakers like Senate Majority Caucus Chair Bob Hasegawa and Representatives Steve Bergquist and David Hackney. 

Anthony Blankenship of Civil Survival emphasized that reform is integral to community health, citing the staggering statistic of 100,000 people cycling through the state’s jail system annually. Concurrently, the Freedom Project brought cohorts of youth to Olympia in the hopes of directly influencing policy. 

Sixteen-year-old Freedom Project Youth Leader Harmonie White shared the profound impact of growing up with an incarcerated father. Her message of resilience included the assertion that true strength comes from "talking about the problem rather than trying to hide from it."

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