Teens push for legislation to preserve in-person visits in New York prisons and jails

Jamila Small poses for a portrait at WNYC.

Many prisons and jails across the country have replaced in-person family visits with video visits. Eighteen-year-old Jamila Small is part of a group of teens who want to make sure this doesn’t happen in New York. 

For the past four years, Jamila has traveled to Albany with the Osborne Association to advocate for a piece of legislation called the Protect In-Person Visits Bill. In this installment of Radio Rookies, Jamila speaks with other youth advocates about the importance of spending time with their incarcerated parents and the financial toll of video calls. They also discuss how this bill preserves their ability to continue to love and support their incarcerated parents and loved ones. 

Radio Rookies is supported in part by Epstein Teicher Philanthropies, the Margaret Neubart Foundation, and The Pinkerton Foundation