Redefining the Vital Signs
Learning about the School-To-Prison pipeline in Richmond in the Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Program.
By Rana Ansari
In April 2020, the nation’s worst outbreak of COVID-19 occurred in a youth prison. Visitation and counseling services were canceled, students were forced to stay in isolated cells for more than 24 hours at a time, and health services were not readily available for minors.
Some would complain about symptoms and would be met with dismissive staff who made obtaining a COVID-19 test seem as a rare commodity. Resources and information about the disease were not distributed to parents or students, and there were discrepancies on reporting numbers and information to the Virginia Department of Health.
This all occurred in our own backyard at
the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center, the only youth prison in Richmond, Virginia. The fact that there is only one correctional facility itself is a source of concern, as there are families all across Virginia who must drive hours in order to see their own kids.
In April 2020, the nation’s worst outbreak of COVID-19 occurred in a youth prison. Visitation and counseling services were canceled, students were forced to stay in isolated cells for more than 24 hours at a time, and health services were not readily available for minors.
Bon Air received a lot of backlash during this time for the way they handled the COVID-19 outbreak, by both the department of health and parents of the students in the facility. From a report covered by the Washington Post on the prison, one student was observed calling his mom and desperately admitting, “Mom, I just don’t know how to stay well.”
This line, with the feelings that come with it, was not just there because of the virus, rather, it represents a recurring feeling about the lack of care and attention provided by the correctional facility.
Looking at the spread of a virus such as COVID-19 was enough to make me wonder about the spread of years of trauma accumulated in this facility? Realizing the lack of resources on one disease was enough to make me think, how many quality resources are available for these kids?
These questions gave me so many more opportunities than I could have imagined, thanks to the VCU Honors Summer Undergraduate Research program.
This summer, I participated in a nine-week project with Kellie Carlyle, Ph.,D. and her students from VCU Health Behavior and Policy. In partnership with a community group, RISE for youth, we worked on a new campaign based on Carlyle’s research to advocate for and spread awareness of the issues surrounding the school-to-prison pipeline in Richmond, Virginia.
Over the summer, I learned about the Social Determinants of Health framework, and how a physical environment, socioeconomic factors, health behaviors and access to health care can frame and shape an individual's entire life course.
However, unfortunately, the physical environment and socioeconomic factors are often neglected when physicians assess their patients, often turning to their behaviors or risk factors for physical health concerns. Many of these factors are associated with a lack of resources in several communities throughout Virginia.
This summer, I participated in a nine-week project with Kellie Carlyle, Ph.,D. and her students from VCU Health Behavior and Policy. In partnership with a community group, RISE for youth, we worked on a new campaign based on Carlyle’s research to advocate for and spread awareness of the issues surrounding the school-to-prison pipeline in Richmond, Virginia
These lack of resources, along with zero-tolerance policies and funding cuts to youth-dedicated programs, and most importantly, a failure in SDoH is what feeds the school-to-prison pipeline.
Defined as the practice of pushing kids out of school and towards the juvenile justice system by the National Education Association, the school-to-prison pipeline does not only have implications for adolescents and their health in those formative years, but also for their future.
Those victims to the pipeline have a greater likelihood for a future of unemployment, reliance on social welfare programs, future imprisonment, and leads to an unproductive transition to adulthood.
RISE for youth, a local nonprofit organization based here in Richmond, works to break this pipeline through advocacy and community outreach in conjunction with the VCU school of medicine and health and behavior policy.
They have the main goal of dismantling the youth prison model by finding the association between SDoH and the high disparities in detention rates in Virginia.
Those victims to the pipeline have a greater likelihood for a future of unemployment, reliance on social welfare programs, future imprisonment, and leads to an unproductive transition to adulthood.
The focus of this summer’s campaign was more directed at advocacy work for the Virginia government, specifically looking at the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, or the DJJ.
Currently, the DJJ is under the Secretary of Health Safety and Homeland security, which is also responsible for other agencies such as the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, the state police, and the Virginia Department of Emergency Medicine.
Valerie Slater, director of RISE for youth, wants to change this, as kids do not belong under the same roof as policing and crime control.
Redefine the Vital Signs, the name of the ongoing campaign by RISE for youth, wants to change this and more the DJJ towards the Secretary of Health and Human Services, where more funds can be allocated towards youth and youth services.
As a part of the campaign, we filmed and recorded the youth’s opinions on what a healthy community smells, looks, tastes, feels and sounds like, reflecting how a healthy community is more than just making sure your physical health is intact.
The summer’s work led up to the main community event, which was held on August 25, 2022. This included performances and speeches by guest community members, raffle prizes, music, ice cream and more.
Attending this event allowed me the opportunity to realize how lucky I am to be a part of the Richmond community, and how it is a privilege to be attending VCU. I was able to see the beauty of coming together, and how change truly can occur when everyone comes together.
As a part of the campaign, we filmed and recorded the youth’s opinions on what a healthy community smells, looks, tastes, feels and sounds like, reflecting how a healthy community is more than just making sure your physical health is intact.
As we are nearing the end of the first half of this fall semester, I reflect on my experiences this summer with gratitude that I was able to learn so much about the community in which I live in and go to school.
I urge you all to do the same by asking questions about the people around you. You never know what you will find, and just maybe, you will be able to help others in ways you did not think that was possible.
We are given the privilege to live in a beautiful city with a diverse and complex history, and as VCU students, we should show our appreciation to Richmond as often as we can. Even further, as Honors students, we have access to opportunities that allow us to do so.
If you have any questions about the Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Program, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Photos courtesy of Rana Ansari