October is Youth Justice Action Month (YJAM) — a time when advocates, families, and communities across the country come together to demand a fairer and more just system for our children. At FFLIC, we believe one of the most powerful ways to spark change is through storytelling. That’s why we want to spotlight the documentary A Million Dollar Cage as a “must see” for YJAM.
The film follows the story of Kent Mendoza, a young man who spent his teenage years behind bars in Los Angeles County’s juvenile justice system. His journey from confinement to advocacy is a powerful reminder of both the harm caused by locking children away and the hope that comes when communities invest in people instead of prisons.
As a teenager, Kent entered Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall, a facility designed to look and feel like an adult prison. The message was clear: he was a criminal, not a child in crisis. In the film, Kent shares what that experience was like and how it shaped him. He also reveals what it meant to begin imagining a different future, one where he was seen not for his mistakes, but for his potential.
Today, Kent works to mentor young people and advocate for alternatives to incarceration. He tells his story not only to heal his own past, but to help others see that young people are capable of growth and transformation. His courage to stand before hundreds of people and say, “This is who I was, this is what I endured, and this is why I fight for something better,” embodies the possibility of change. His story is not just personal—it is political. It calls on us to reckon with the choices our society makes. Every dollar spent to build or maintain a cage is a dollar not spent on schools, mental health care, housing, or the kinds of community supports that actually keep young people safe.
The truth is that Kent’s story is not unique. Across the country, children are funneled into systems that punish rather than protect, and in Louisiana the reality is no different. Here, youth of color are disproportionately targeted, families are torn apart, and children are forced to navigate environments that no child should have to survive. Yet just like Kent, young people in our communities have the capacity to lead, heal, and thrive when given the chance.
A Million Dollar Cage challenges us to look beyond fear and stereotypes and instead listen to the young people who know this system from the inside. When we invest in them, when we provide care instead of punishment, we all become safer and stronger. The film is not just a story about Kent Mendoza—it is a call to action for all of us.
That’s why we are excited to be co-hosting a special community viewing of A Million Dollar Cage at the end of October with Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights (LCCR) and New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC) which also include a short NOVAC-produced profile of FFLIC highlighting our work to support youth and families impacted by youth incarceration and a youth-led conversation on what real reform could look like in New Orleans.
Where: The Broadside | 600 N. Broad Street