At the groundbreaking of Nashville’s new Youth Campus for Empowerment, Jelly Roll, the artist behind “Save Me,” reflected on his own past. “I marked my 14th, 15th, and 16th birthdays there,” he shared at the event. Hailing from Antioch, Tennessee, Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, knows the old Davidson County Juvenile Justice Center all too well, having been incarcerated there multiple times as a youth.
Committed to giving back, the 39-year-old CMT Music Award winner is not only supporting but also partnering with the city to finance the new center designed to rehabilitate and support young people in detention.
“The only reason I wasn’t there at 17 was because I was tried as an adult,” he told WZTV, the local Fox affiliate.
Jelly Roll, who had a performance in Las Vegas on the same day as the groundbreaking, praised the city’s investment in the youth-focused project. He criticized the outdated conditions of the old center, noting, “The only thing that changed in 30 years was the paint,” a statement informed by his personal experience.
He emphasized the need to create an environment that doesn’t make young people feel like “caged animals” but instead shows them love and offers them opportunities.
“Many of these kids are victims of their circumstances. This is a prime opportunity to make a real difference,” he said.
The new 14-acre Youth Campus for Empowerment, set for completion in 2027, will offer family-oriented, trauma-informed services, including crisis support, courtrooms, and meeting spaces.
This isn’t Jelly Roll’s first initiative to help young people at the center. In 2022, he announced his plan to donate a recording studio, which became a reality in May 2024.
Speaking with PEOPLE about the studio and his time at the facility, he said, “I was in and out for about three and a half years. It was the most impactful period of my life, even in the darkest times as a scared 15-year-old away from family on Thanksgiving.”
Jelly Roll’s mission is clear: “It’s vital that we give back, especially to our kids. They’re born into their situations, and sometimes they can’t see beyond them. I want to bring hope and be a light for those kids.
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