Photo via Milwaukee Turners - milwaukeeturners.org
Paradigm Shyft
Paradigm Shyft
The Zero Youth Corrections (ZYC) Action Committee announced that they are awarding two Milwaukee legal justice organizations, Paradigm Shyft and Pathfinders, a combined total of $400,000 as part of their ZYC Youth Opportunity Grant. The funding is possible through the joint efforts of Milwaukee County’s Department of Human & Health Services (DHHS) Children, Youth and Family Services, the Milwaukee Turners, and Public Welfare Foundation.
Paradigm Shyft and Pathfinders each receive $200,000 through this grant. The ZYC Action Committee selected the organizations through an intensive process in which they met with local leaders, activists and impacted families, taking community input into consideration as they identified which initiatives are best equipped to prevent youth incarceration and recidivism.
“Our goal is to keep youth out of the justice system and provide systems and support for the young people returning home to their communities,” DHHS Deputy Director David Muhammad says. “I’m very pleased to have Paradigm Shyft and Pathfinders as our partners in this work.”
The ZYC works to transform youth justice through investing in communities rather than policing them. Wisconsin’s legal system disproportionately affects Black, Brown, Immigrant and Indigenous youth, and funding such as the ZYC Youth Opportunity Grant helps create innovative solutions that reconceptualize rehabilitation, promise new futures and reduce racial disparities within correctional facilities.
Successful Model
“We hope that other funders and local governments seize on this successful model to reimagine how they create opportunities for our young people instead of restrictions and convictions,” Milwaukee Turners Executive Director Emilio De Torre affirms.
Paradigm Shyft is using the funding for their “MIRROR-Policy Reflection'' program, which empowers high-needs youth through comprehensive mentorship while advocating for policy change around the Serious Juvenile Offender Program (SJOP). This is the organization’s second year receiving the ZYC grant.
Pathfinders’ funding is going toward their “Power of Paths-Youth Action Board” that focuses on meeting the needs of Milwaukee youth through systems change while emphasizing the intersection between housing instability and the legal system. It is Pathfinders’ first year receiving ZYC funding.
“Direct investments to local organizations have the greatest ability to drive real change,” Public Welfare Foundation Program Director Jen Oppenheim concludes.
Visit the Paradigm Shyft website at paradigmshyft.org. Visit the Pathfinders website at pathfindersmke.org. Visit Milwaukee Turners’ website at milwaukeeturners.org/zyc to learn more about the ZYC Youth Opportunity Grant.
