Youth center named after man wrongfully arrested as a teen opens in downtown Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — A man who was wrongfully arrested as a teenager is working to help youth in downtown Pittsburgh.

“It’s finally passed me, and now we get to celebrate the good that comes out of it,” said Jordan Miles.

Jordan Miles was a Pittsburgh teen and art student who was wrongfully arrested by police while walking to his grandmother’s house in 2010. The teen was tackled by officers during an arrest and awarded a settlement by the city. A federal jury decided he was wrongfully arrested.

Fast forward to the present day, and the now-adult Miles has a youth center in downtown Pittsburgh named after him: J’Miles Youth Engagement Center. The center is a safe place and resource center for youth in the city of Pittsburgh. Miles called it a full-circle moment.

“Just giving the kids the youth a place somewhere you can go, and have fun,” Miles said.

“We want our young people to know that downtown belongs to them too,” said Brandi Fisher, the president and CEO of Rise Up 365.

The center is open to young people from ages 15 to 25 and caters to their needs and interests. The center offers a free store with clothes and hygiene products, a recording studio, kitchen, homework nooks and a social worker.

Fisher said it’s a full-service center, open to all youth, and will serve as a diversion program to help keep kids out of incarceration and inside of the classroom.

“We have been working with Downtown stakeholders, to be a solution to what people perceive as a problem,” Fisher said.

The center officially opens on Monday, and youth can attend, no questions asked, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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