Young man wears goggles and tinkers with lab equipment

Opinion: Apprenticeships should be part of programming for juvenile offenders

A stolen bike. A schoolyard tussle complete with shiners. A neighbor’s garage door graffitied. These seemingly minor incidents can start a young person down the road to delinquency. And once down that road, some young people will find themselves in the juvenile justice system.

Living Redemption Youth Opportunity Hub youth, including those in the juvenile justice system, boxed up food donations to distribute in in their Harlem neighborhood.

Millions in seized money expanded Harlem youth hub’s “credible messenger” anti-violence project

Headquartered in the upper rooms of a church on 124th Street, Living Redemption is one five such hubs that, in 2017, received $45.9 million of $250 million that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office seized from a drug-money laundering European bank. Decade-old Living Redemption got $10.3 million. The windfall expanded the program — even providing providing a paycheck for those mentoring messengers.

mentor: Young African American male outside wearing a black and white baseball jersey henley shirt looking serious

I Thought I Could Help My Last Mentee — But I Was Wrong

It’s pretty to believe that if one only puts in the time, he can save a wayward child. It doesn’t always work out that way. The troubled boy I mentored for 6½ years, through a Norwalk, Conn., school volunteer program, fired me last May.

Helping Kids Achieve in Acworth

The City of Acworth, GA.,  is supporting a program called the Acworth Achievers. Five years ago, Acworth identified a concern about at-risk kids within the city limits and began developing a program. The goal of this program is to help middle and high school children make better decisions through after-school and mentoring programs.

“This will offer more opportunities and give kids better decision making skills so they can become productive adults,” Frank White, the Director of Acworth Achievers and the Recreation Coordinator for Acworth Parks and Recreation said. “It’s about inspiring kids to be the very best that they can be,” Mayor Tommy Allegood said. Click below to hear more from Mayor Allegood about the Acworth Achievers.

Treatment Program Working in Douglas County

The Juvenile Court Family Treatment program in Douglas County just celebrated five new graduates.  The program is growing more successful, and some graduates are returning to help mentor their peers.  Two are participating in the Georgia Meth Project.  One of the tactics that seems to be working is handing out small gifts.  Small presents like picture frames and coupons can be good motivators.  Read more in the Douglas Neighborhood Newspaper.