Don Jones

The Philadelphia Inquirer just reported the lowest level of gun violence in a decade. Violence intervention and prevention is Don ‘Ike’ Jones’ life’s work, including through the nonprofit he co-founded in Philly called G.R.O.W.N.

“I have been staying very busy using my experiences to help ensure that others do not go the path that I traveled,” Ike says. “Us former juvenile lifers were once considered throw-away people. Decades later and we are out here doing the work to save our communities.”

Recognizing his outstanding efforts in supporting reentry and for exemplifying leadership in his community, Ike just received this year’s “Rising Leader” award from The Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project (YSRP). Like Don, members of the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN) remind us why the extreme sentencing of youth deprives our communities of the solutions we need.