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Youth Outreach Program-More than Just Counseling
Many people today are aware of the rising crime and of the persistent problem of gangs that have affected many cities across the country for a long time. Many members of these gangs are young people. Many of them have not had the opportunity to complete their education and they have to deal with many challenges. Most of them come from low income and single parent families. In addition, they suffer from drug and substance abuse and some of them are homeless. For many of the juvenile offenders they have not had the chance to learn from positive role models in their families or communities. In some cases, their parents are not educated. Some have to live with the fact that their parents are incarcerated. These factors largely contribute to how the juvenile offenders will turn out in life. Many of them will not get the chance to get good jobs and families of their own. Instead, they will be arrested and they will end up spending most of their time in prison. There is a need to stop this cycle. The More than Just Counseling Youth Outreach Program is meant to change the life of juvenile offenders in a positive way and make them productive members of the society by enlisting the help of positive and influential role models within the society and developing the character of the offenders.
This program will work with different people and groups within the community. It will target law enforcers, religious leaders, educators, and business owners. They will act as mentors to the juvenile offenders. Many people in low-income areas where there are many criminal activities do not get along with law enforcers. They see them as the enemy because the officers only appear whenever there is a crime. The program aims to change this through education and awareness. The community and the law enforcers should understand each other’s roles and responsibilities. Once the community understands that the officers are not just there to arrest them, but that they are willing to help them change their community for the better, they will be more receptive towards them. Enlisting the help of the law enforcers will be necessary since they will assist in follow up. They have more knowledge of the juvenile offenders than anyone else does and they can ensure that the offenders participate in the program and that they are not drawn back to the wrong crowds. This will greatly reduce their chance of re-offending
Many juvenile offenders give up on their education because they lack the necessary help and support. They lack learning opportunities and they may have other challenges. Therefore, they will not be able to learn at the same pace with the rest of the class. They give up when they realize that they are always failing in their tests. They end up joining gangs since they do not have anything else to do. It is possible to reverse this trend by taking a keen interest in their education. The program will work with the colleges around in an effort to look for tutors who will be willing to spend some of their free time helping the children with learning difficulties. This will also require the support of the educators as they can assist by providing the required resources.
Most of the juvenile offenders get the time to commit crime because they are idle. The youth have a lot of time to spare during the summer holidays. To ensure that they spend their wisely, the program will work with the business owners within the community. The owners can offer the youth a chance to work part time. The program will also include counseling and follow up sessions. This is important because most of the young people may be having other problems, and they may require counseling services. It is my hope that you will consider funding the program as everybody stands to benefit in the end.