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William Douthat

What It's All About


Makayla was in the Orange County Juvenile Detention center from February 2020 to

November 2020 with little expectation that her life after her sentence would be much different

than before. But during her time in jail, she had a weekly ritual to look forward to that not only

gave her something to be excited about, but also served as an encouragement to behave better so she could attend.


Every Monday a group of volunteers, coordinated by a nonprofit organization known as

The VERB Kind, gather at numerous county jails throughout Florida (and now Alabama) to

spend time with minors who have been incarcerated for a variety of reasons, and each serving

different time lengths.


The group of volunteers go in every Monday, start with a group discussion, then break up

into smaller groups to have a closer interaction with the teens to discuss what got them there and

what their goals are to do better after they leave. While the whole meeting takes less than 3

hours, split evenly between the male and female inmates, it has a resounding impact.

Beyond the walls of the county jail, The VERB Kind works with kids who are recently

released from jail and serves as a first point of contact to connect them with the resources they

need for better education, extracurricular activities, and employment opportunities.


The VERB Kind has 3 main societal goals of reducing re-incarceration rates, improving education via higher graduation rates, and connecting previously incarcerated youth with potential job opportunities.


Makayla was one of thousands of teens who benefited from The VERB Kind’s impact on

incarcerated youth in Florida and after her sentence was over The VERB Kind’s volunteers

assisted her in finishing high school and applying for, then attending college. Stories like hers are

what drives the more than 250 volunteers to give their time every week to mentor the kids. The

ultimate goal of The VERB Kind, according to its founder is to “give back hope to the 60,000

incarcerated teens in America” and ensure they get the same opportunity as the rest of us, despite

their youthful mistakes.



For more information contact the CEO and Founder Haley Hunt at



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