Celebration held for KC program eliminating school-to-prison pipeline

Yahoo

2 days ago

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Natasha Scruggs started JustUs when she was still in law school.
'I was working at a juvenile justice court, and I started to see eight-year-olds in handcuffs, and I'm like, 'We got to do something a little bit better than this,'' she said.
She says the program has two separate goals, using the legal field to reach two different audiences.
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'It's a pipeline to help kids who either, if they're in the justice system, get out. If they're not in the justice system, help them become attorneys. So it's kind of a two-pronged approach.'
The program has helped hundreds of students over its 10-year history.
Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church held their 10-year celebration on Sunday, where students were given certificates of achievement for their hard work and given scholarships as well.
One of the recipients is William Workcuff, who's been with JustUs for three years.
'I see myself, God willing, as a criminal attorney, and hopefully in ten years, ten or 15 years, hopefully, I have my own firm,' he said.
He said that he's already using some of his experiences in his classwork. He's a sophomore at the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
'I feel like it's really a blessing that this program has been to me, not only through the experiences that I've gotten, but the training that I got that I was able to implement in UMKC Mock trial.'
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He also says the skills he's learned are applicable everywhere, not just the legal field.
'Come do this simply not because it's just for lawyers, because it's not. It helps you build communication skills, critical thinking skills that you need that in any industry.'
Students have been able to connect with leaders of professional sports franchises, like the Royals and the Chicago Bears. They've been to appellate courts and courtrooms all over the country, making invaluable connections.
Scruggs says it's the opportunities she wishes she had as an aspiring attorney.
'The success that I've seen is kind of like my dream, what I would have wished I had when I wanted to be a lawyer,' she said.
We asked Scruggs about what the next ten years of JustUs might look like.
'I'm trying to see some more like full-time jobs,' she said.
'So, I'm just wanting to make more opportunities, more students, some more cities involved, more attorneys.'
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