Turning the Tide: Discussing the Youth Sentencing Reentry Project with Bianca Van Heydoorn and Shariff Ingram

Pursuing Justice

Bianca Van Heydoorn is the director of YSRP, a nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia, PA. The organization is committed to helping "returning citizens" who are coming home from prison, many of whom were teens when they went to prison. A large number of these individuals were sentenced to Life Without Parole but were given a second chance when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that LWOP was unconstitutional. Bianca has experience working with adolescents preparing them for employment and helping them reenter society after being incarcerated. She graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Shariff Ingram served 23 years in prison from the age of 15. He was released 4 years ago due to the Supreme Court's ruling that Juvenile Life Without Parole is now unconstitutional. Since his release, he has worked full time in construction and is now building bridges in the state of Pennsylvania. He sat on the advisory board of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, is now a member of the Intergenerational Healing Society and coordinator of the Speakers Bureau. He mentors at-risk youth who are at high risk for violence. Shariff's story appears in a book called: SAY THEIR NAMES written by Patricia Gaines.

For more information, visit https://ysrp.org/

This podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.