What ‘System-Impacted’ Really Means

By Naquasia Pollard, Founder & CEO

When people hear me say “system-impacted girls,” they often pause. Some nod, some ask questions, and others assume they understand. But let me take a moment to break it down, because these words hold weight.

When we say a girl is system-impacted, we mean she’s lived through or been affected by systems that were designed to control her, not care for her. That could mean incarceration, foster care, group homes, juvenile justice, probation, or simply growing up in a household touched by any of these things. These systems disrupt families, steal childhoods, and often leave our girls carrying trauma before they ever get a chance to dream.

I know what that feels like not in theory, but in life. I was a system-impacted girl myself. I entered prison at 19, pregnant and alone. I’ve walked through the shadows of these systems, and I know the long road it takes to heal from them.

At PureLegacee, we’re building something different. We create spaces where system-impacted girls are seen, heard, and poured into. We don’t treat them like problems to be fixed. We treat them like leaders, creators, and future changemakers.

Being system-impacted doesn’t mean broken. It means navigating barriers most people never see and still choosing to show up.

We use that language not to define our girls, but to honor their resilience and remind the world: they are more than their circumstances.

So when you hear “system-impacted,”

I want you to think of power.

Of purpose.

Of possibility.

And I want you to think of PureLegacee,

where every girl gets the chance to rewrite her

story.