Expanding Access to Justice: Know Your Rights Program Reaches Every St. Croix School

St. Croix Educational Complex Workshop

At VI Justice Initiative, access to justice starts with access to information. Today, we’re proud to share a major milestone for our Know Your Rights Program. Thanks to a grant award in the amount of $10,000 from the Popular VI Community Fund at the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI), we have successfully expanded our programming in St. Croix bringing critical legal education directly to public school students across the island.

“Expanding our services in St. Croix has long been a priority. We recognized the importance of ensuring that young people across all three islands have the opportunity to understand their rights, navigate legal systems, and feel empowered to advocate for themselves and their communities,” shared Executive Director Casey Payton, “with this support, that vision is now a reality.”

Executive Director, Casey Payton & Board Member, Kimberly Berry at The Safe & HealthyStudent Program (Formerly the Alternative School)

By the end of the 2025-2026 academic school year, our team reached every single public school in St. Croix, including the Safe and Healthy Student Program, formerly the Alternative Education Program, delivering Know Your Rights presentations to students throughout the island. Each interactive workshop is designed to make legal information accessible, engaging, and relevant, equipping students with knowledge about how seemingly innocent behavior can actually be criminal in nature and can affect their ability to earn money in the future.

This milestone represents more than expansion, it reflects our continued commitment to equity, empowerment, and community presence across the Virgin Islands. 

Ricardo Richards Elementary School Workshop

We are deeply grateful for the Popular VI Community Fund at CFVI for investing in this work and helping us reach more young people with the tools they need to understand and exercise their rights. We also extend our deepest gratitude to Gisele Schjang, the Social & Emotional Wellness Manager at the Virgin Islands Department of Education for scheduling all of the St. Croix Know Your Rights workshops.

For more information or to support the Virgin Islands Justice Initiative, please visit vijustice.org.