Keep learning. Keep showing up.

If this story stayed with you, here is where to go next, and, where you can, how to support the people and programs still doing this work.

Why Florida, and why it matters.

The Light Within the Walls didn’t take place in Florida, but Florida is home for me now, and it’s where I’ve become most invested in how we care for young people inside the system.

Today, Florida is one of the country’s leaders in juvenile-justice reform — but that leadership was hard-won. It grew out of a history that was, at times, horrendous: places like the Dozier School for Boys, where children were failed in unimaginable ways. It took confronting that darkness to force real change.

So as you move from the hard truths in this book to a state that now leads, know that both are true. Everything below is a place to begin.

Reader’s Guide for Incarcerated Readers

A companion to The Light Within the Walls: trauma-informed guidance for reading, a shared vocabulary, and reflection prompts. Written with deep respect for those reading from inside. Free to print and share with facilities.

Books, reporting and data.

How Florida reckoned with its past, and how to follow the work today.

Programs doing the work.

South Florida organizations changing lives for young people in and around the system. If you’re able, support them.

If your teen is in the system, or close to it, you are not alone. Miami Bridge above is a 24-hour starting point. For therapy and parent support, C.P.’s practice is Ocean Counseling.

The Light Within the Walls