When my grandson was first arrested four years ago, I rushed to the precinct to tell the police that he was diabetic.  The officers refused to do anything, so I just kept trying to tell them about his medical condition.  I begged them to take his insulin to him, but instead one of the officers went to the store to buy a bag of candy.  They told me he would be fine.  I continued to try to reason with them, as my grandson requires insulin four times a day, but the police dismissed all of my pleas, saying that he would be moved to another facility soon.

Despite my efforts, the police never believed me.  I was terrified that he might slip in to a diabetic coma during the night.  I went home to make phone call upon phone call to try to find out where my grandson was.  By 5:00 am the next morning, a nice man gave me a phone number—one I wasn’t supposed to have.  When I called, a lady answered and proceeded to interrogate me about who had given me the number.  I asked her about my grandson, but she ignored me until I told her he was diabetic.

Then, they panicked.  The facility asked me what he had a prescription for, and then informed me that they did not have that medication.  I was still worried that my grandson was not going to receive proper care, so I called his doctor.

She threatened to report the facility to ACS if the medical staff did not provide my grandson with the appropriate care.  Finally, after two days of neglect, my grandson was given his medication.Once I went to visit him at Highland Detention Center.  I waited for him for about half an hour before the staff told me that he was being punished.  When they brought him to me he was sweaty and said he could not talk about what happened  Two weeks later, my grandson told me he had been locked up in the hole in the basement.

After he was released, he was rearrested from my house.  The police just took him without showing me a warrant.  When I arrived at the precinct, I resisted giving the officers my information.  They treated me like I had done something wrong, like I had to prove that I was a law-abiding citizen.  I looked around and saw my grandson sitting nearby with tears streaming down his face.  So I gave the officer my information.  Hours later, the police told me to go home.  They would not release my grandson.

 Throughout my grandson’s involvement in the system, the authorities treated me without any respect.  Police officers refused to listen and staff ignored his medical issues.  I fear for youth whose families cannot devote the time and energy required to advocate for their children. Our youth are not safe in these facilities.