Building Brighter Futures: A Spotlight on theMount Vernon Emerging Adult Justice Program

The bailiff for Courtroom A at the Mount Vernon City Court pushes aside the large door of the entryway. It is a bright, warm day in early October, and sun light streams through the hallway windows and onto the heads of half a dozen people waiting outside the courtroom. The bailiff invites them to come in.

On the schedule is a conference session with the Honorable Judge Tamika A. Coverdale. There are eight cases on the docket that are part of the Mount Vernon Emerging Adult Justice part of the court—MVEAJ, for short. The initiative is one of only nine similar efforts throughout the country, which offers alternatives to conventional prosecution and incarceration for 18- to 25-year-old individuals. The program connects participants to services, resources and opportunities, promotes healing to avoid re-offending, and strengthens public trust in the criminal justice system.

The discussion at the conference session brings together representatives from the district attorney’s office, as well as the people who were waiting outside in the sunny hallway moments before: counsel to young adults facing non-violent misdemeanor charges; and staff from community-based organizations. The staff represent organizations that provide a variety of programming to support youth, including finding stable housing, access to health care and behavioral health treatment, attaining gainful employment, GED and credentialing requirements along their vocational journey. In summary, they provide social support and professional development that every person needs to overcome life’s challenges, including and especially youth at a critical period of their lives.

Vincent Jackson, a program manager at the Youth Shetler Program of Westchester, and Matthew Kaufman, a social worker, settled into chairs at the large mahogany conference between the bench and court gallery. Both men are well over six feet and carry themselves with a powerfully calm presence that belies the immense passion they have for their jobs and the deep care they have for the young people they work with in the MVEAJ program. Their care becomes readily apparent when Judge Coverdale invites them to speak about the progress young people in programs at the Youth Shelter are making toward their goals. Staff at the Youth Shelter call each person’s list of goals an Individual Service Strategy. It may include regularly attending a GED class, completing a food service or construction safety certificate course, or meeting with licensed specialists to support their behavioral health needs.

At the core of the MVEAJ program is an approach to criminal justice that replaces punishment with accountability. Through consistent, small wins, young people make progress toward larger goals with support from Mr. Jackson, Mr. Kaufman, and several other staff at the Youth Shelter who run a variety of educational, vocational, clinical, and additional enrichment programs.

The conference session with Judge Coverdale garners input from all parties for each case: the district attorney’s representative, counsel to the youth facing one or more misdemeanor charges, and staff from the community-based organizations. Judge Coverdale shows interest in the person behind the paperwork on the conference table. For young people already accepted to the MVEAJ program, she wants to know if the young person is showing accountability to the expectations of the program that they leverage the programming and support from the Youth Shelter to address their educational, vocational, and other personal goals and needs. When the group moves onto cases where a young person has yet to be accepted to the MVEAJ program, the discussion turns to whether the case is a good fit.

"This program isn't a pass, but an opportunity. It requires commitment that is not for everyone,” says Mr. Jackson. “We need to see young people aspire to change their narrative and their behavior. We know the young people we work with. We know the reasons they end up in court, or worse, locked up. MVEAJ is about the village coming together and addressing those reasons. As someone who’s been there, my mission is to create pathways for young people to get off the streets and create opportunities for them to thrive. Their job is to show up and put the work in.” And they do, the vast majority of cases that come through the emerging adult part of the court do end up with reduced charges because young people have achieved the goals they have set for themselves. MVEAJ doesn’t lower the bar; it changes what is being measured. It turns out that when you measure growth instead of compliance, most young people exceed expectations.

During a Youth Justice Symposium that the Youth Shelter hosted at Westchester Community College later in October, Judge Coverdale was a guest speaker. “The Emerging Adult Justice Part [of the court] in Mount Vernon works directly with the Youth Shelter, and we have those young adults who are 18 to 25 [years of age] in that part. That’s a crucial age group and at times they feel they are not listened to,” Judge Coverdale said during her speech. “But I listen to them all the time. And every organization that we have involved with them listens to them. And our goal is to ensure that young people have resources.” She continues, “Some of our young people are food insecure. So, you have to make sure [to ask] ‘Do you have food? Do you have a place to live? Do you have therapy?” The questions point to the structural issue that youth involved with the justice system often are without support to meet their basic needs, needs that every person must meet to live a life with dignity.

Later in the symposium, attendees heard from Michia, a participant in YSOW’s community programs. She shared a poem, entitled “The Art of Surviving”, which encapsulated how supporting young people to live lives with dignity is key to building brighter futures. As part of her poem, Michia passionately recites:

Change doesn’t come from talk; it comes from access.

From systems that listen.

From people who remember that potential doesn’t disappear just because someone stumbles.

We don’t need saving. We need space.

Room to build. Room to breathe. And room to become more than the world expected.

"We're witnessing a life being rewritten every time a young person chooses to invest in themselves instead of just serving time,” says Joanne Dunn, executive director of the Youth Shelter Program of Westchester. “That's what makes this work so meaningful. We're not managing consequences; we're building brighter futures."

Key to the MVEAJ program’s success is not only the milestones that individual young people reach—such as earning their GED or securing employment—but also the collective successes of the program. In 2025, the Youth Shelter supported 25 young people in the MVEAJ program, nearly twice as many as the 14 participants annually during the prior two years. During this three-year period, the time it took young people to complete their accountability goals decreased. In 2023, the time between when a participant was accepted to the MVEAJ program and their final disposition, which is nearly always a dismissal of the case, was 375 days, on average. In 2024, this average dropped down to 207 days, and down further to 139 days in 2025. This saved time preparing for and attending court dates translates to more time youth have to invest in their goals. In fact, while a goal for all young adults in the MVEAJ program is to be accountable and have their case dismissed, several young people continue to stay connected with the Youth Shelter beyond the court mandate because of the ongoing opportunities available to build a brighter future for themselves.

"The heart of the work is a young person realizing that they are so much more than a detrimental moment, and that happens through the unconditional love of the village,” says Mr. Kaufman. “When a young person realizes that they’re not alone and they can make things right by reaching for their potential, worlds start to shift. Our biggest success lies when they start to believe that they can. We don’t always see them graduate or land their dream job, but often we do. They’ll call for their flowers.”

About the Author

Bijan Kimiagar serves as director of impact at Youth Shelter Program of Westchester where he supports staff to leverage their professional expertise and program data to promote the success of their programs and the young people they serve.

About the Youth Shelter Program of Westchester

Since 1975, the Youth Shelter Program of Westchester (YSOW) has been a pioneer in providing community-based alternatives to incarceration for young people involved in the criminal legal system. YSOW serves justice-impacted young people ages 16–25 through two primary program structures— residential and community-based programming—that offer court-aligned, structured alternatives allowing young people to remain connected to their families and communities while taking meaningful accountability. Our residential program operates a 12-bed facility serving young men ages 18–24, while our community programming, also known as the LEAD (Leadership, Excellence, and Development) Academy, provides diversion, special court initiatives, intervention, and post-support services. Across both program structures, YSOW addresses the root causes of justice involvement through education and GED programming, workforce development, behavioral health and substance use services, violence prevention, conflict resolution, arts and cultural enrichment, and consistent mentorship. Through close Page 5 of 5 partnerships with courts, government agencies, and community organizations, YSOW replaces confinement with opportunity and supports young people in building safer, more stable, and hopeful futures.

For more information about the Youth Shelter Program of Westchester, please contact Joanne Dunn, Executive Director, at jdunn@ysow.org or 914-668-4702 ext. 103. For programming inquiries, please contact Jordan Cormier, Director of Programming, at jcormier@ysow.org or 914-668-4702 ext 102