Rodney’s Story: Leadership Rooted in Community
“This moment is not your whole story. What defines you is how you move forward. Stay hopeful, stay connected, and let people support you. Having someone who understands can change everything.”
Rodney first connected with YSRP in 2017, when he was facing charges in adult court. After YSRP co-founder Lauren Fine prepared a mitigation report and his case was moved to the juvenile system, Rodney assumed his time with YSRP was over. Instead, he found the opposite. Lauren stayed in touch, visited him at his placement facility hours away, and made sure he knew he still had people in his corner. Students from the Youth Advocacy Project also wrote to him and visited, offering encouragement and connection at a time when he needed it most.
When Rodney completed his placement and returned home, he came back not only to familiar faces but to a community ready to support him as he stepped into his own leadership.
Today, Rodney is a respected organizer, advocate, and emerging scholar. He studies at the Community College of Philadelphia, beginning in African American Studies and now pursuing a degree in Sociology. He has worked closely with many of YSRP’s partner organizations. Through Care, Not Control, he supports statewide youth-led organizing. With Juvenile Law Center, he traveled to California to join national partners working on debt-free justice. At Yeah Philly’s Violent Crime Initiative, he supported young people in court and helped them understand what to expect and how to ask for help.
We often see Rodney in Harrisburg and at community events across the city. He shows up with clarity, insight, and compassion for young people who are navigating the same systems he once faced.
Rodney is also a member of YSRP’s Intergenerational Healing Circle, which he describes as mind-opening. It has become a space where he can be vulnerable, build relationships, and strengthen his commitment to helping others heal.
When asked what he would say to a young person now facing an adult sentence, Rodney said:
“This moment is not your whole story. What defines you is how you move forward. Stay hopeful, stay connected, and let people support you. Having someone who understands can change everything.”
Rodney’s journey reflects the strength of community and the transformation that becomes possible when young people are met with care, consistency, and opportunity. He is part of a growing movement of leaders shaping a safer and more just future for Philadelphia and beyond.
photos by Nico Crachi