What We Do

Literacy for Incarcerated Teens, Inc. (LIT) is the only non-profit organization of its kind working to end illiteracy among New York’s incarcerated young people by inspiring them to read. LIT strives to create excellent school libraries in New York City’s juvenile detention centers and non-secure facilities for young people adjudicated as delinquents, the State’s residential facilities operated by the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), and also in schools that serve young people living in group homes. We give young people books and support literacy programming for school libraries.

LIT provides crucial resources for the enrichment and development of the thousands of young people who are incarcerated in New York’s juvenile facilities. These facilities have been widely recognized as being severely under-resourced and unprepared to assist young people in their growth and development. In an era of budget austerity, LIT is able to provide much-needed supplementary services and resources.