Young people in juvenile detention facilities facilities in the Netherlands meet YOPE Facilitators and Experts during creative and sports workshops and peer-to-peer sessions. The workshops take a trauma-sensitive approach and aim to provide a safe space and support for authenticity, self-expression and positive engagement – providing an alternative to more traditional, treatment-centered approaches for rehabilitation.

The workshops are strengthened by a diverse, representative body of committed workshop facilitators, who bring a bit of the outside world into the closed facilities and help maintain positive ties between young people and the culture and society outside. They seek to foster holistic wellbeing among all participating young individuals and act as relatable, approachable, and positive role models – helping youth have a more positive and forward-looking outlook to life.

Each facilitator is trained by YOPE, and approaches the time with youth as an opportunity to amplify their voices, listen to their thoughts and opinions, encourage cooperation and pro-social skills, and provide a safe environment for sharing and growth.

‘It is nice to see that my class can take a boy who has been inside for a long time out of the prison system for a while. I see him forget that he is between those four walls and enjoy the moment. That really gives me a kick.’

Orinta – Kickboxing Facilitator

Young people’s lived experiences and ideas about the justice system are central to their advice to policy makers on complex issues. YOPE translates consultancy assignments into the lives of young people with creative forms of work that are inspired by methods from social design, storytelling and philosophical conversation.

Experts of YOPE are involved in devising new solutions at all stages of deprivation of liberty – before and after release. YOPE facilitates the space to learn from their experiences, because we believe that they know best what can and should change in forensic youth care. We follow ambitious models for youth participation in which not only young people are listened to, but their voice plays a major role in the final practice and decision-making of collaborators.

‘I want to share my experiences and explain to people how things can go for young people. You work for and on yourself as an Expert, but at the same time you also represent the young people in juvenile detention.’

Expert of YOPE

Photo: YOPE Experts and Coordinators with Gerrit van der Burg,
president of the Board of Prosecutors General

YOPE facilitates training and exchanges between previously incarcerated young people and professionals within the justice system, including prosecutors, probation officers, youth judges and law enforcement.

Creative forms of conversation – such as role playing and dilemmas – invite young people and professionals to, as an old participant has put it, ‘take off your jacket’ and step out of old and familiar roles. At its core, this programme seeks to encourage dialogue and provide youth with skills and self-confidence to become active voices in the work toward a better, fairer, and more child-friendly justice system. Simultaneously, the programme highlights the value of collaborative learning and young people’s unique expertise to various professionals and stakeholders within the criminal justice system and society.

‘As an prosecutor, you are blessed with a lot of information from chain partners. The pitfall with this is that you think you know exactly what the young person’s story is .’

Susanne van Dongen, Public Prosecutor after participating in YOPE training course

YOPE’s mentoring program pairs volunteer mentors with youth in detention; a mentor visits a young person (bi)weekly inside and later outside the institution. It is all about having someone to trust and lean on, someone who believes in you and is there to share in your journey back to daily life on the outside; new perspectives and feel supported. It is a volunteer programme that aims to provide (recently) detained youth to have access to new kinds of relationships, a new social world, and new context within which to approach re-entry.

‘“I was in need of a mentor from outside my community who had a positive stance on life
and wanted to help.’

Malcolm, young mentee