Teens and kids impacted by the criminal justice system have ‘the best day’ of their lives

If you thought a Tuesday couldn’t feel like a Friday, that’s because you weren’t there to see the magic REFORM Alliance, the Eagles, and the 76ers put together for a group of kids in need of the perfect night out.

On Dec.13,more than 30 kids and teenagers from Pennsylvania and New Jersey who have been negatively affected by the criminal justice system, along with their parents or chaperones, had what one teen called “the best day of her life.”

REFORM, a nonprofit with a mission to transform probation and parole laws, partnered with the local nonprofits Above All Odds, Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, the Center for Family Services, and the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Inc. to find the families to invite to the event. The event happens annually in Brooklyn and Philly.

Around 3:30 p.m., the kids arrived at the NovaCare Complex in South Philly, their faces painted with both excitement and confusion as Swoop, the Eagles mascot, welcomed them into the massive indoor field. Even through their initial skepticism, they grabbed their swag bags and followed the cheerleaders to find out they’d be participating in the first-ever “Eagle for a Day’' experience, being told that today, they’re all Eagles. Today, they’re 12-1.

The experience was complete with a Jr. Combine where they passed a football to REFORM cochair and Philly rapper Meek Mill, signed legitimate one-day Eagles contracts, took a VIP tour of the facilities, and ran a 40-yard dash alongside Eagles players including Darius Slay, Avonte Maddox, Jordan Mailata, and Dallas Goedert.

A day like this means a lot to people like Darlene Edwards, a foster parent to 18-year-old Ramon Lanza, who has been on probation for a year and has another two years ahead of him.

“These kids never had this kind of experience, so I’m so happy. Look at him smile!” Edwards said, beaming and recording on her phone as Ramon passed a ball with Mill. “He’s doing what he’s supposed to do [while on probation]. He’s a good kid. I love that about him. This is a great Christmas present for him.”

The Eagles portion of the day concluded with Eagles executive vice president and general manager Howie Roseman welcoming the 12/13/22 free-agent class, along with speeches by Fanatics CEO and REFORM cochair Michael Rubin, Mill, and quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Up on stage, Rubin told a story about the early days of his friendship with Mill, when the rapper was still on probation. He explained that Mill couldn’t even go to New Jersey with him for a quick ride. That ride would violate his probation and he would be arrested.

Every one of the invited guests in the audience could relate, and they nodded as Rubin spoke about an unjust probation, parole, and prison system in Pennsylvania that many of them are battling with today.

Six years ago, Megan Parke was arrested. About nine months later, she gave birth to her son, Amir, while still incarcerated. “It was traumatic,” Parke said. “It was probably the lowest point of my life. I was only a few weeks pregnant when I was arrested and I spent my entire pregnancy in jail. It was a high-risk pregnancy, it was a miracle that he survived. I gave birth to him at Temple hospital and then was taken back to jail. I had to hope that the nurses called my parents to come pick him up.”

Parke finally came home when Amir was 2 years old, and says it took a lot to be able to build a relationship with him, even though her mom always brought him to visit while she was still incarcerated. “It’s hard on kids to feel like, Are you permanently here?” she said. “Are you going to go? Are they going to take you away?”

“We took it upon ourselves to try and help our lawyers and educate each other.”

Five-year-old Amir was the tiniest attendee at Tuesday’s holiday give-back event, but he didn’t let that stop him. He ran around in his too-big Eagles jersey, signed his one-day contract, and watched the speeches, even though he looked as if he needed a nap.

“He’s so excited,” Parke said as she watched her son enjoying his time on the field.

And while Tuesday was a great day for both mother and son, Parke still has a fight ahead of her. Right now, she’s working on being granted early termination of her probation sentence with help from her friend LaTonya Myers.

Myers, who was incarcerated with Parke, founded Above All Odds, a nonprofit that focuses on building power among LGBTQ+ returning citizens, young people, and families in their communities. Myers started advocating and learning about law while she was incarcerated as a way of keeping other women informed and rich in resources.

» READ MORE: The Probation Trap

“Me and Megan would sit and write letters to judges and try to educate ourselves on the system, because we didn’t know what was going on,” Myers said. “We took it upon ourselves to try and help our lawyers and educate each other.”

The two friends believe Parke should be eligible for early termination because her time spent was miscalculated, they say. The state has her on probation until August 2024, but she was sentenced to 11½ to 23 months in prison, followed by four years’ probation. Parke says that she should have been off probation lastThursday.

“A lot of these issues could have been resolved or shouldn’t have been an issue if there was just communication in their office,” Parke said.

Tuesday was the first time Myers and Parke were able to reunite since their time spent together in prison, and it was the first time Myers was able to meet Parke’s son. They’ll work together from here on out to find ways to pay for legal representation for Parke.

While many may have lost all energy after the fast-paced time spent at the NovaCare Complex, that was not the case for the kids and their chaperones who were later put on party buses and sent over to the Wells Fargo Center for part two of their evening.

“I couldn’t believe they would do something so nice.”

Once the driver blasted the volume on Power 99, and “Rich Flex” by Drake and 21 Savage came on the radio, there were dance battles in the aisle and one chaperone yelled, “I ain’t goin’ to work tomorrow!”

It’s safe to say that morale was high as the group entered the 76ers portion of the event. First stop was a motivational Q&A with Sixers head coach Doc Rivers, who joked that he played basketball “a thousand years ago.”

“I want you guys to understand you guys deserve as much joy as everybody else,” Rivers said. “And we understand what you’re going through and what you’ve been through. … Keep pushing.”

Rivers then opened up the floor to questions from the kids, who bloomed given the opportunity to ask the coach their questions directly. One young woman noted that it’s hard to find a job after being incarcerated, and asked if he knew of any internships she could apply to. While he didn’t have an answer for her at the time, he promised to work on it.

Other questions from the kids included: What’s the most rewarding thing about coaching in the NBA? What keeps you motivated? Who is the greatest of all time? When your team loses, how do you make the players feel better? What do you think of Kyrie Irving?

Even with the clock ticking closer to game time, Rivers answered each question thoughtfully, and it was clear that every partner and coordinator of the event cared deeply about the community in front of them.

“Watching Meek go to prison for not committing a crime, and then realizing this happens to 25% of people who go to prison each year don’t commit a crime, they go for a technical violation... .We’re using this to fix the system for millions of people. I’d say we’re pretty motivated,” Michael Rubin said in an interview with the Inquirer.

“I don’t think you should go to prison or jail if you don’t commit a crime,” he said, speaking about probation violations as small as being a few minutes late to meet the probation officer.

We’re using this to fix the system for millions of people. I’d say we’re pretty motivated.”

“That doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. “Pennsylvania is one of the worst states for how many people are on probation relative to the per capita population. 2023 is about getting the laws changed in Pennsylvania.”

Being a Black man from North Philly who has been to prison because of a probation violation, Mill could speak to what many of the event’s attendees are going through.

“I know they going through it, if you from Philadelphia there’s a lot of murder, a lot of violence, a lot of poverty going on. You know, I grew up in that my whole life. I hope their days go better for today,” Mill said in an interview with the Inquirer.

“The system got rules that send Black and brown [people] to prison more than others, and I happen to be one of those. [The system] doesn’t work and we’re working to fix anything that we can. People don’t belong in prison, especially for a probation violation.”

Before the game started, the kids were welcomed into suites for dinner and onto the court for pregame fun as both teams practiced shooting and passing.

Many of the kids took advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by putting on the Sixers jerseys from their swag bags and taking photos with players such as James Harden, who happily played around with them and answered their questions. Several others watched in awe, unable to believe that they were so close to Joel Embiid.

“I’m so happy. Look at him smile!”

They gathered midcourt to ring the game-opening bell alongside Mill, provided halftime entertainment with a scrimmage, and sat courtside to watch the Sixers beat the Sacramento Kings, 123-103.

“It’s just so incredible and really nice of them. I couldn’t believe they would do something so nice,” said 15-year-old Keaton Ballas, standing alongside her sister, 18-year-old Cecilia Ballas. “Everyone’s really enjoying it and having a great time.”

“It feels surreal,” she said. “Our sister told us a few months ago. We just couldn’t wait for today.”