From Change.org:

LGBT Youth Behind Bars: Isolated, Abused, Neglected

by Matt Kelley July 12, 2010 11:16 AM (PT)

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in prisons and jails are among our country's most vulnerable people — and what's more, they're virtually invisible to mainstream society.

Photo Credit: Erin MC Hammer

GritTV checked in this week on the issue of LGBT young people behind bars and brought us one of the more thoughtful (and frightening) presentations of the issues I've seen in a while. (Watch the full episode after the jump.) As their episode reveals, the treatment of LGBT youth in prison brings into focus a dangerous mix of many of our prison system's worst flaws.

We frequently cover the issue of sexual assault in prison, and LGBT youth are among the most victimized populations behind bars. Juveniles are vulnerable in adult prisons — or in any prison, for that matter — and LGBT youth are often the most vulnerable of that group.

But this week, GritTV guests Gabrielle Prisco and Daniel Redman didn't focus only on juvenile issues or prison rape. Instead, they connected important dots on this issue: to homelessness, to the school-to-prison pipeline and the severely excessive use of solitary confinement for our most vulnerable prisoners.

In his excellent recent Nation article, Redman tells the stories of terrified young people — often in need of help — who find themselves in the most hostile environments imaginable. LGBT youth make up 15% of the juvenile prison population, he reports, and they report 12 times the number of sexual assaults as straight youth do.

Help Wanted: Your two cents.

I've been composing this blog for three days now, with few breaks. I want it to be a library of sorts - a virtual infoshop - where folks can find pretty much every juvenile justice link they need in one place. Because of the diversity of issues among youth in both the juvenile and adult systems, that's nearly impossible. There's so much information I want to share that it's begun to bog me down; I just can't put it all up there, and I'm afraid to crowd the really good stuff out.

So, my friends, I will need your help, especially these next few weeks. If you peruse this page and see something missing that should be here, email me. If you hit a broken link or read an article that seems inappropriate, let me know. If you have suggestions for a published article, send me a link and I'll check it out. Same with general issues about the system or facilities that you want to learn more about - maybe I can find some things that are already published and post them, or make a few calls and write something up. You are also welcome to write your own opinion pieces and submit them - I don't have guidelines - just be decent, reasonable, and accurate. All emails of that sort should go to azjuvenileprisonwatch@gmail.com.

As for allegations of neglect, abuse, poor facilities, or particularly brutal twists in the juvenile justice system - let me have them and we'll discuss where to go. We may use the blog to expose issues that haven't seen much light yet; first-hand accounts can be very enlightening, and while I'd prefer to have everything on the record, I will respect requests for people to remain anonymous if they fear retaliation. We may also quietly contact the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and request a CRIPA investigation instead (as was done with the AzDJC about abuse at their programs a few years back). We may even turn what you have over to the Phoenix New Times if it seems to demand investigative journalism - they are much faster than the DOJ. Whatever we do, it will be our decision (yours and mine), not just mine.

Finally, if families and community members - even AzDJC employees - want to meet and organize around juvenile justice reforms, let me know and I'll help people connect with each other. In the meantime, if there are one or two people willing to help with this blog - doing research, fine tuning the margins, following up with feedback and concerns, writing editorials - please contact me: Peggy Plews, prisonabolitionist@gmail.com, or 480-580-6807.