A juvenile justice “fair” took over part of the Duval County Courthouse Wednesday.
It was Circuit Judge Suzanne Bass’s idea to bring together dozens of government agencies, youth service providers, educators, parents and community activists in a second-floor room of the courthouse so they could get to know each other.
“I see a lot of kids in my courtroom who haven’t found services, and these are the kids, the at-risk kids, that desperately need these services,” Bass said. “I’m connecting dots, hoping to.”
One of those dots is Linda Dayson, founder of Hurting Families with Children in Crime.
She said, “I’m very excited about this juvenile justice fair because there are some organizations in there that I don’t know, and it’s possible there are some in there who don’t know me. And I think if we’re going to be dealing with the public, especially our children, it’s really important that we know who we all are and know what resources we all offer.”
Among the nearly 60 groups participating in the Juvenile Justice and Youth Services Fair were the Deloris Barr Weaver Policy Center, 100 Black Men and Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Northeast Florida.
