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The comic book contains relatable characters and language for young people to be more engaged (Photo courtesy of YEAH Philly)<\/p>\nKendra Van De Water has always been passionate about helping youth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The CEO and co-founder of YEAH Philly, Van De Water says the organization\u2019s mission is to inform and support Black youth in West and Southwest Philadelphia who have been charged with a violent crime in the legal system. (YEAH stands for Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout.)<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of our services are holistic support, and the goal is to help young people become self-sufficient and stay in the community with services instead of being incarcerated,\u201d she said. \u201cWe do a whole bunch of different things, such as educational programming, skills and employment programming, our court program, which provides private representation and court advocacy, and we have a hangout space for young people to come and get support with things that they need.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of YEAH Philly\u2019s newest initiatives is a comic book \u2013 but not your standard comic. Instead of superheroes and supervillains, this comic\u2019s characters are police officers, judges and young people. Van De Water explained that it\u2019s an attempt to explain the complexity and nuance of interacting with law enforcement and the criminal justice system in a format that youth can relate to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the comic book [came from the idea that] knowing your rights with interactions and law enforcement is a lot of information,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd, oftentimes, it\u2019s too much information for young people and for anyone, adults as well. And if you don\u2019t know the law, or if you\u2019re not in this work every day, you\u2019re not always going to know what to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo this is a way to help young people learn tough information and put great graphics in it, and write stories in their language.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The comic book contains relatable characters and language for young people to be more engaged (Photo courtesy of YEAH Philly)<\/p>\n
The book<\/p>\n
Because the youth that YEAH Philly serves have been involved in the legal system, they face unique challenges. Van De Water said navigating these situations \u2013 including interactions with law enforcement \u2013 can be difficult.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe comic book stems from our work in the juvenile system, and we have always done trainings around knowing your rights when it comes to police interactions, because a lot of things come up when you have a case in the legal system and you don\u2019t always understand what\u2019s happening,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The comic book addresses various situations youth may find themselves in.<\/p>\n
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The comic books contain lots of youth resources, as well (Photo courtesy of YEAH Philly)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Comic-release.jpeg\")
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