Angel Flores, Supervising Assistant District Attorney, City of Philadelphia speaks to the TCY graduates.

Group of people standing and smiling
2023 TCY Graduates pose for a photo with JEVS President and CEO, Cynthia F. Figueroa.

Joined by The Honorable Charles Hayden; Angel Flores, Supervising Assistant District Attorney, City of Philadelphia; Elisa Downey – Zayas, Esq., Assistant Chief, Alternative Sentencing Unit, Defender Association of Philadelphia; along with JEVS President and CEO, Cynthia F. Figueroa, staff, and board members, TCY graduates gather to celebrate their accomplishments. 

Members of JEVS The Choice is Yours (TCY), a program to help non-violent drug offenders, graduate high school through Penn Foster. With help from JEVS, TCY participants learn how to plan their time and use problem-solving skills as they finish assignments to meet their goals. As adults ages 18-27, finding the balance of home and work to finish high school is a challenge. This includes finishing 104 lessons, 3,086 multiple choice questions, and several written essays to earn a diploma and a fresh start. 

For more than ten years, TCY has run successfully in partnership with the City of Philadelphia’s TCY Court, the District Attorney’s Office, and Defenders Association. The program has just a 15% backslide rate one-year after graduation.  

Angel Flores, Supervising Assistant District Attorney, City of Philadelphia shared,We have met through a program that brought you to the court system. But you know what? That doesn’t define who you are. Take a picture of you today and look at it periodically, because that’s the beginning of who you are and how you are defining yourselves. “  

Follow this link more information on TCY. 

Posted in Blog JEVS Program: The Choice is Yours