On October 23, 2025, from 1:00-3:00pm Eastern Time, CPJ will be hosting our sixth annual virtual Juvenile Justice Convening, Engaging Communities for Juvenile Reentry: Holistically Supporting Justice-Involved Youth After Detention.

While youth incarceration rates have declined over the past two decades, over 27,500 youth were placed in residential facilities in 2022. Upon release, many return to their communities without the support, resources, or guidance needed to navigate the complex transition back into everyday life, making them more vulnerable to recidivism. Families, community members, nonprofit organizations, and houses of worship play a vital role in filling the gaps left by the juvenile justice system. Through mentoring, skill development, leadership training, and other community-based services, these groups can offer the wraparound support that empowers youth to heal, grow, and thrive.

During this convening, we will hear from service providers, have time for questions, and explore how families, communities, and faith-based organizations can most effectively support the reentry of justice-involved youth through comprehensive support that fosters positive development, reduces recidivism, and promotes long-term community connection.

Register:

Panelists: 

Atujuan Douroux is the Youth Program Director and Community Volunteer Coordinator for Hustle PHX in Phoenix, Arizona. With a strong commitment to community outreach, he leads youth programming in the community, juvenile detention centers, and group homes. He specializes in developing and facilitating entrepreneurship curricula that teaches sales skills, identity development, financial literacy, and community restoration. 

Diego Garcia is a passionate young professional from the Chicago area. His journey reflects a deep commitment to growth, transformation, and service. After facing challenges early in life and spending several years in the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, Diego turned his experience into motivation for change. While incarcerated, he completed high school, began college courses, and even took the real estate licensing course—earning his license soon after his release.

Today, Diego works for a research organization and as a realtor. Active in his church and connected to a strong network of positive influences, he focuses on helping others—especially young people who have faced similar struggles—find stability, purpose, and opportunity.

Margaret Hoffer works for Project Belong, a nonprofit organization that inspires, recruits and resources the local church to care for vulnerable children. She is the director of Don’t Go Alone, a program that connects young adults aging out of foster care to caring adults who provide connection and support to help them reach their full potential. She is also the proud adoptive mother of eight children and currently a foster home in Loudoun County. 

Belinda Ramos is the Chief Executive Director of CCFY. She joined CCFY’s Training Department in August 2014 after her years working in research, training and development of parent-peer support and advocacy training through The Research Foundation for Mental Health and Columbia University. Her personal experience in navigating the issues produced by the justice system that impacted her and her family is central to her drive to see systems overturned.

Phillip Vellon serves as the Juvenile Justice Ministry Director for Youth For Christ New York City, leading programs that engage over 2,500 justice-involved and transitioning youth each year across NYC. He has helped launch initiatives such as Public Reading of Scripture, the Faith and Works entrepreneurship program, Adopt-a-Hall, and the City Life Ministry Partnership Cohort, which equips local churches to reach unchurched youth. A passionate advocate for holistic transformation, Phillip partners with city agencies and churches to stop the cycle of youth incarceration through mentoring, discipleship, and community reintegration.

Oye Waddell is the founder and CEO of Hustle PHX, driven by a visionary leadership style and the belief in the inherent dignity of all people. With a strong background in urban education and entrepreneurship, Oye is passionate about transforming urban communities in Arizona through business. He and his wife, Crys, along with their four children—Chariot, Clover, Crescent, and Oye II—live in Phoenix, Arizona. In addition to his role at Hustle PHX, Oye serves as a pastor at Sojourn Village PHX and is the Co-Founder of Adonai Behavioral, a company focused on supporting youth and young adults with mental and physical behavioral health needs.

Anthony Crosson is a Boston-based advocate and leader dedicated to
empowering young people and communities through justice-centered,
faith-based, and educational initiatives. A native of New Jersey,
Anthony has called Boston home since 2000. He graduated from
Boston College with a degree in Sociology and later earned a Master’s
in Management from Emmanuel College. Anthony began his career
with Straight Ahead Ministries, where he was first introduced to
justice-involved youth and the importance of transformative support in
their lives.