Building a World Beyond Incarceration for Bay Area Youth

Alex Diaz, 26, first encountered the youth organizing and community building nonprofit Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ, pronounced “courage”) when he was 17. Diaz was staring down what would have been effectively a life-destroying 15-year prison sentence in Alameda County adult court.

CURYJ arranged for legal assistance and provided stabilization support for Diaz while he fought his case. That support saved his life. Diaz’s sentence was drastically reduced and he was released at 21, rather than having to survive as a kid in an adult prison.

Upon release, Diaz embraced his second chance and enrolled in Berkeley Community College. He earned a 3.92 GPA and transferred to U.C. Berkeley where he graduated last May with a bachelor’s in business administration. Next on Diaz’s radar: joining CURYJ staff as a Dream Beyond Bars Program Coordinator while he prepares for law school. 

“That’s what happens when we invest in young people,” says CURYJ Executive Director George Galvis, who co-founded CURYJ in 2011 with the aim of ending youth incarceration and empowering youth impacted by the foster care and juvenile justice systems to become community leaders and advocates through paid internships and culturally-rooted political education. 

To Galvis, Diaz’s triumphant story – while impressive – isn’t exceptional, he says. With the right support and resources, any young person can transform their lives for the better. 

“Unfortunately, a lot of young people are not getting their needs met and in many cases that has been a trigger for their incarceration,” Galvis says. 

In the Bay Area, where rents are astronomical, CURYJ is doubling its efforts to provide safe and stable housing for transitional age youth, which is essential for maintaining security in adulthood, he says.

Last year, CURYJ was awarded a 99-year lease – effective ownership – of the commercial space in an affordable housing development across from the Fruitvale BART station where Oscar Grant was killed by BART police on New Year’s Day in 2009. The high-profile incident was the subject of the movie Fruitvale Station. The 7,000-square-foot space, called the Oscar Grant Youth Power Zone, will house CURYJ’s programs, offering young adults a safe space to rebuild their lives and an opportunity to become community changemakers.