ElderChicks

It’s not that I get arrested on Thursdays.  But every other Thursday night I go to a police station about a mile from my house to chair a Youth Aid Panel for the District Attorney’s Office.  There actually is a temporary lock-up or jail behind the room where we meet, and once in a while we see a couple of large policemen escorting a noisily protesting miscreant to the cell.  We’re glad when that happens and the young person in front of the 5 or six volunteers plus one officer gets a vivid picture of what might happen to him or her one day should our program be ignored.More than 10 years ago I read about this program in the local paper.  It said that most of the kids who complete it are never arrested again.  They are usually teen-agers, first offenders – or first time caught – who are in serious trouble.  It might be shoplifting, defacing property, threatening a teacher, carrying a knife into school, fighting, or a drug-related offense.  (They often answer honestly when asked “Is this the first time you’ve stolen something or just the first time you’ve been caught?”)

The people we see are given the opportunity to come with a parent or guardian to talk with us and be given a 3-month contract, monitored by one of us.  If they fulfill the contract and stay out of trouble for a year, the record is wiped clean and need never be reported when they apply for work or college.  Often it’s clear that home is a supportive environment; just as often it isn’t.  Many of the youngsters we see have made one foolish mistake; others face challenges at home, school, or on the street that would daunt the strongest among us.

I always let the kids and parents know that we are volunteers.  We give our time because we care about them.  It often comes as a surprise that we do.  Knowing that I’ll get to know and help the people we see and that I’m in touch with their generation is rewarding enough to get me out to the station every other Thursday.  Leave a comment here.