The students at the Miami Youth Academy wrote these stories for their newspaper Titan Tribune, a collaboration by the facility, Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Exchange for Change, a Miami-based non-profit group that supports writing programs in youth commitment and adult correctional facilities. Students work on the paper in a journalism class taught by a retired journalism teacher. The writers are identified by their initials to protect their identities.
By C.E.
I’m feeling happy because I want to hold my daughter again. She’s standing up now and getting into everything.
Also, I haven’t seen my grandmother in a while so I’m looking forward to seeing them.
I felt alone ever since the visitation closed, but now that it is open again I’m anxious to see my family.
By N.M.
I am happy I got to see my mom for the first time in two months. The moment I saw her I started smiling and gave her a big hug. I can’t explain how good it felt to be with my mom.
I can’t wait to see the rest of my family, especially my uncle. I haven’t seen him in what feels like years.
All I know is that my time is going to be a lot easier with visitation.
By J.Q.
I really look forward to seeing my family. This is such a great opportunity for me because I went a really long time without seeing my mom.
My mom caught COVID while I’ve been in detention and I only got to see her through a Zoom call. For my court appearance, she was in the hospital.
I’m glad I can finally see her again.