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KALAMAZOO, Mich.—For three years, Western Michigan University's Youth Juvenile Justice Fellows Program has given young people impacted by the justice system a foundation to become changemakers. An upcoming fundraiser aims to institutionalize the transformational program and expand its impact.

The yearlong Youth Juvenile Justice Fellows experience connects youth and their families with lawmakers and community leaders, educating them in advocacy and allowing them to identify challenges within the youth juvenile justice system and develop strategies for justice reform.

"Our fellows know how to use their voices, they're not afraid to use them, and they want to lift them up so they can uplift others that are like them in the community," says Dr. Luchara Wallace, director of the Lewis Walker Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations.

The Dine 4 Justice fundraiser will be held Sunday, April 7, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Heritage Hall on East Campus. Currently in year three of a grant from the Public Welfare Foundation, donations from the event will help the Youth Juvenile Justice Program become a self-sustaining entity. 

"We're asking people to invest in leadership and advocacy development of youth in our community," Wallace says.

Kemmel Palmer, graduate assistant and coordinator of the Youth Juvenile Justice Fellows who is pursuing a doctoral degree in counselor education, says he's seen the program's life-changing impact firsthand.

"I provide training workshops (for fellows) on personal and professional development with respect to changing their trajectory from being a justice-impacted youth to becoming an advocate for justice reform for all youths," he says. 

In one particularly impactful instance, he recalls a young man who had been in a challenging situation with the courts before joining the program.

"Since joining Youth Juvenile Justice Fellows in 2023, being an active member who participates and engages in our biweekly meeting activities and discussions, and sharing his traumatic past as a justice-impacted youth, he has now managed to successfully have his legal issues removed from his criminal record," says Palmer. "It's been rewarding watching the personal and professional development of all of our fellows as they learn to advocate for themselves and their communities for fair treatment, equal opportunities and justice."

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

The Dine 4 Justice event will feature a light meal as well as a keynote address from culinary expert and social justice advocate Chad Houser, founder and CEO of —a paid restaurant internship program for formerly incarcerated youth. By providing wraparound support in the form of educational and financial literacy, paid workforce development training and life and social skills training, Café Momentum's interns build strong foundations for success. Guests will be able to hear some of those success stories from four Momentum Ambassadors.

Houser also co-founded Momentum Advisory Collective, a nonprofit set on expanding Café Momentum's transformative model for youth justice nationwide. The Youth Juvenile Justice Fellows have visited Café Momentum locations in Dallas and Pittsburgh and aspire to start a similar program in Kalamazoo.

In addition to helping justice-affected youth find their voice through advocacy, the Youth Juvenile Justice Fellows program has also created a handbook that can be utilized by other organizations in the Kalamazoo community, paving the way to developing similar youth justice programs. 

"When we started this program, the goal was we would be able to establish a program that could be replicable throughout the state," Wallace says.

Dine 4 Justice for purchase through the 51¸£ÀûÉç Alumni Association. Registration closes Friday, April 5.

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