Incarcerated Youth Look Forward to Safe, Healthy Futures
Despite public support for prevention strategies, most of the state’s money and efforts for reducing violence are restricted to a narrow range of solutions; chief among them is incarceration of youth. Much less attention has been paid to preventing violence against young people, said Deane Calhoun, executive director of Youth Alive! and 1995 recipient of TCWF’s California Peace Prize. "Youth are less likely to behave violently and to grow up to be violent adults if they feel positively connected to their community and learn to respect themselves," Calhoun said. "It’s not always about punishment. It’s about finding out why a kid [committed a crime] in the first place."
During a 10-week period prior to their release dates, youth participate in workshops led by TNT staff members, many of whom have had experiences similar to those of the detained youth. In addition to learning about topics such as anger management and self-esteem, the youth receive information and resources to develop positive plans for leading healthy, nonviolent lives. "The kids see adults who have lived lives similar to themselves and have broken the cycle of violence," Calhoun said. "The message is ‘you are responsible for staying safe, out of violence and out of jail, but you’ll need help, and here’s where you can go to get it.’" Following their release, the youth participate in the PREP After Care Program, a series of classes that provides job training and links to community employment resources. To date, PREP has provided education and training to 177 incarcerated young people and follow-up services for 163 youth through its After Care Program. "This project provides access to a quality prevention program for one of the most underserved populations in California—incarcerated first-time offenders in the juvenile justice system," said TCWF Program Officer Tawnya Lewis. "Without appropriate intervention, many will likely become further involved in violent activities." TNT is a program of Youth Alive!, which strives to prevent violence and generate youth leadership in California communities. Other TNT activities include training youth in communities with high rates of violence to speak to policymakers about the impact of violence on youth and violence prevention policies. TNT also strives to ensure that positive images of youth are visible in the media, demonstrating that young people can be leaders in preventing violence. TNT’s violence prevention programs received national recognition during the last five years. In 1996, President Clinton selected TNT as one of the Top Ten Violence Prevention Programs Nationwide, and the U.S. Attorney General gave TNT the 1996 Best Victim Services Award. In 1995, TNT was selected as a model program by both the California Attorney General’s Task Force on Violence Prevention and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Victims of Gang Violence program.
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Fall 2000
| INSIDE:
Interpreters break down language barriers Home visits connect kids to health care Teen-to-teen pregnancy prevention Violence prevention for incarcerated youth |
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