For readers
Resources & Support
If this story stayed with you, keep learning — and, where you can, support the people and programs still doing this work.
The Light Within the Walls didn’t take place in Florida, but Florida is home for me now, and it’s where I’ve become most invested in how we care for young people inside the system.
Today, Florida is one of the country’s leaders in juvenile-justice reform — but that leadership was hard-won. It grew out of a history that was, at times, horrendous: places like the Dozier School for Boys, where children were failed in unimaginable ways. It took confronting that darkness to force real change.
So as you move from the hard truths in this book to a state that now leads, know that both are true. Everything below is a place to begin.
— C.P. Handler, LCSW
Learn the history
Books, reporting & data
How Florida reckoned with its past — and how to follow the work today.
The Nickel Boys Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, nominally inspired by the Dozier School for Boys. penguinrandomhouse.com We Carry Their Bones Erin Kimmerle’s nonfiction account of the search for the truth at the Dozier School for Boys. amazon.com Florida’s Dozier School for Boys: A True Horror Story NPR’s 2012 reporting on the abuses uncovered at the Dozier School for Boys. npr.org Florida DJJ Interactive Data Interactive reports on trends and outcomes from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. djj.state.fl.us Gram Talk A newsletter written by students at Florida Youth Academy, published through Exchange for Change. exchange-for-change.org/gramtalk Bridging the Gap A digital newsletter for the M-DCPS One Stop Program. Open the newsletterOrganizations to support
Programs doing the work
South Florida organizations changing lives for young people in and around the system. If you’re able, support them.
Exchange for Change Teaches writing classes to incarcerated students across South Florida and connects them with students on the outside. exchange-for-change.org Gang Alternative Builds character in youth from underserved South Florida communities, offering positive alternatives to crime, violence, and delinquency. myga.org Prosperity Social & Community Development Group Free GED classes, afterschool and summer programs, mental-health services, and family support across Miami-Dade and Broward. p-scdg.org Miami Bridge Youth & Family Services 24-hour emergency shelter, counseling, and family intervention for youth ages 10–17 in crisis across Miami-Dade. miamibridge.org Hope for Miami — Triumph Mentoring and evidence-based programs offering positive life alternatives for Miami-Dade youth. hopeformiami.org/triumph Eckerd Connects A national nonprofit providing youth workforce training, education support, and family services to help young people find a path forward. eckerd.org
The Light Within the Walls
An unflinching, deeply human memoir about the children behind the labels — and the difference one trusted adult can make.
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