4 Troubled Teens Blog

Actor Dan Trejo, Jr. grew up believing his life would never amount to much because he was Latino. He was in and out of juvenile detention centers during his teen years, and while in prison he decided that enough was enough. He quit drinking and doing drugs, and began pursuing an acting career.

"Trejo, known for playing the tough guy in movies for about 25 years, told the 30 students at Decker Lake [rehabilitation center] there are two things they can do to immediately and drastically change their lives: Stop drinking alcohol and using drugs," the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Trejo told the Tribune that some Latino youth have been taught to think like he did, that they cant accomplish anything outside of their barrios. He advised these teens need to "retrain your brain" and begin believing they can accomplish anything.

Labels: troubled_teenagers, advice

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Budget cuts are threatening to close the Michigan Youth Challenge Academy, a National Guard-sponsored program for troubled teens.

According to a Nov. 25 article on the website of CBS affiliate News Channel 3 WMMT, current and former students are playing an important role in the effort to save the program:

More than 130 kids are sitting in limbo right now, waiting to hear if they'll get to attend the academy in January. [On Nov. 24] cadets and graduates hand-delivered letters to every legislator in the state with signatures from all those kids.

The academy will shut down the day after Christmas unless lawmakers restore funding. ...

Over the past 10 years the program has helped nearly 1,800 at-risk teens clean up their acts and get their lives on track.

Labels: troubled_teenagers, michican, residential program

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The Toledo Botanical Garden has developed an outreach program aimed at helping troubled teenagers. The program, Toledo Grows, helps teenagers develop good work habits and other skills that can benefit them their entire lives.

Toledo Blade food editor Kathie Smith reported on the program in a Nov. 15 article:

The chickens were raised for eight to 10 weeks by Toledo Grows, which employs about 100 youth in partnership with the Community Integration & Training for Employment (CITE) job-training program of the Lucas County Juvenile Justice Division. Toledo Grows is an outreach effort of Toledo Botanical Garden.

"The program helps teenagers form work habits and transferable skills that will benefit them throughout their whole lives," said Michael Szuberla, Toledo Grows manager. "Some of the things are punctuality, reliability, attention to detail, team work, pattern recognition, and delayed gratification. The teens are at risk for poverty, pregnancy, drug addiction, and delinquency.

"This program is an oasis for them. It's like going to the farm in the country. They are safe. It's a relaxing place to be. It allows them to think about who they want to become and to formulate career goals and formulate a plan to achieve them."

Labels: troubled_teenagers, jobs

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The Maaco repair shop in Clarksville, Tennessee, fills up with teenagers every Saturday morning -- but they're not showing up just to hang out and look at cars. According to an Associated Press article by Tavia Green, the young people are participating in Project 59, an initiative aimed at giving troubled teens a chance to get their lives back on track.

Project 59 is an initiative through Operation Turnaround, a Clarksville Police Department program that gives teens who have been in trouble with the law a chance to get their lives back on track. Through mentorship from officers and volunteers, students learn trades and are better equipped to make good choices.

Maaco owner Mitch Rollins explained: "This is a car that nobody wanted. It was shunned, put away from society, and nobody wants to look at it. That's the way (these children) feel when they are incarcerated. They lose their self-respect and self-esteem. We show them how to rebuild that through the car."

Sgt. John Hunt, a director and mentor with Operation Turnaround, said the project will give the participants training they can use to better their future. Communication skills, a sense of responsibility, commitment, team-building and problem-solving skills, along with discipline, can all be accomplished if the teens take the project seriously, he said.

When the teens have finished restoring the 1959 Pontiac Catalina, the vehicle will be auctioned off to raise funds to help further the program, Green reported. Rollins told the AP that he hopes the car will sell for about $40,000.

Labels: prevention, troubled_teenagers, mentoring

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Australia has a new TV show aimed at straightening out troubled teenagers. Titled "World's Strictest Parents," the show sends teenagers around the world to live with no-nonsense parents for seven days. Cassandra McDonald of Zanesville, Ohio, was chosen as one of the "strict" parents.

An Aug. 23 article by Holly Richards of the Zanesville Times Recorder provided the following details:

McDonald knew she had her work cut out for her when Aza and Troy arrived in Zanesville on Aug. 11, but she also knew she could make a difference in their lives ...

"They looked so hugable and lovable and I gave them a big hug as soon as I saw them," McDonald said. "The coolest thing was when I looked into their eyes, I saw the heart of a child who wanted to be loved. I told them the (bad) things they've done is what you did, not who you are; you don't have to let it define you."

"Aza didn't want to leave, but we're going to talk back and forth," McDonald told the newspaper. "She'll be back around Christmas, and they both said they plan to move to America some day. It was a tiring, stressful week, but when you're affecting someone's life it's worth it. Love and the love of God can turn around anything."

Labels: troubled_teenagers, parenting_help

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Richmond County (Georgia) Juvenile Court Judge Willie Saunders has seen a lot of kids come through his courtroom. While he admits that he's saddened by what he's seen, he also admits that he isn't shocked.

Now, a new program called "Change Your Mind: One Degree at a Time" will aim to help kids turn their lives around.An Aug. 12 report on the website of NBC Augusta provided the following details about the program:

For 26 weeks, [Rev. Devon] Harris will work closely with troubled teens, finding out what their goals are, analyzing the positive and negative things in their lives, and try to get them back on the right track. ...

"It's basically to reprogram a young man. It goes 180 degrees backwards. It's war games helping teens figure out where they are going in life," said Harris.

The Richmond County program is slated to begin in September.

Labels: prevention, troubled_teenagers

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As the economic downturn continues to wreak havoc on state budgets, services are being cut and facilities closed. But Hawaiis latest cost-cutting move will end up helping area troubled teenagers. The Kulani Correctional Facility will be closed this year, and will re-open next year under new management as the Hawaii Youth Challenge Academy.

There, like at the Kalaeloa academy run by the Hawaii National Guard, high school dropouts spend an intensive 22 weeks working toward their GED and learning important life skills. ...

While young adults with the Youth Challenge Academy will head to the converted Kulani Correction Center, the move is actually an effort to keep kids out of prison. (Source: KNHL Channel 8)

Closure of the prison facility will save about $2.8 million, and most of that money will be used to help fund the $16,000 cost for a student to complete the Youth Challenge program, KNHL reported.

Labels: troubled_teenagers, hawaii

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In the early 1980s, Doug and Robbie Smith were planning to retire and spend a year cruising the world by boat. Their plans were put on hold when they agreed to let a couple of troubled teenage boys live with them -- a decision that led to 25 years (and counting) of work with troubled teens, and a Hallmark TV movie about their efforts.

And the boys never stopped coming. Since founding the Safe Harbor Boys Home on the St. Johns River in 1984, the Smiths have helped more than 800 boys, ages 12 to 18, get a start in life. A new Hallmark movie, "Safe Harbor," debuted [May 30] at 9 p.m. (Source: The Tampa Tribune)

The residential educational program for at risk teen-aged boys that the Smiths established will celebrate its 25th anniversary in June. It receives no government funding, and operates entirely on donations. Doug and Robbie Smith never got to take that round-the-world cruise, but the Smiths say they have no regrets.

Interested in other residential educational opportunities for troubled youth? A number of private boarding schools have enabled adolescents and teens to overcome a range of academic, behavioral, and mental health challenges.

Labels: troubled_teenagers, boarding schools

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A program that teaches impulse control can help teens who have a gene linked to risky behaviors, according to a study that was published in the journal Child Development. People who have the 5-HTTLPR gene are twice as likely to have poor self-control, and engage in risky behaviors such as drug abuse and binge drinking, the study reported.

"The findings underscore that 'nurture' can influence 'nature' during adolescence," said Dr. Kenneth Warren of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The study was performed in conjunction with the University of Iowa and Vanderbilt University.

Researchers evaluated 641 families in rural Georgia, concentrating on 11-year-olds:

• Some study subjects had the 5-HTTLPR gene.
• A control group without the gene had no intervention.
• After two and a half years, children with the gene who participated in the program were no more likely to engage in risky behaviors than were those in the control group.

As summer vacation approaches, many parents worry about the effect that excess free time and a lack of structured activities will have on their children. One option for potentially delinquent teens during the summer -- an option that can help improve their behavior year-round -- is to enroll the child in a reputable and effective therapeutic summer camp for trouble teens.

Labels: research, genetics, troubled_teenagers

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Executive Director Avital Goel describes Susan's House as a "holistic solution to working with high-risk kids." The project was started six years ago; the realization of a dream for Goes, Eyal Kaplansky and Kaplansky's wife Susan, for whom the project is named.

"[Goel] explains that the teens accepted into this initiative learn the skills they need to complete the various jobs scheduled in the art workshop, enjoy meals prepared by their fellow crew members, earn a salary, and discover how to budget their earnings and save for the future."

The art workshop is the program's heartbeat. Here, the teens learn to create high-end art pieces that are sold at malls and expos. Goel says the creative process helps the teens develop self-esteem and start to believe they can have a better life. Source: Jewish Exponent

Labels: troubled_teenagers, treatment_programs, therapy

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Many parents begin worrying about their children the moment they reach their teenage years. The teen years are difficult, sometimes confusing, and often frustrating for both you and your teenager. But is he really in trouble? Is she really "at risk"? This survey asks some important questions that can help you gauge the overall well-being of your teen.

"This can serve as a point of reference for you in understanding the severity of the problems your teen is currently facing." Read more.

Learn what a troubled teen is and find parenting tips for parents of teenagers online.

Labels: troubled_teenagers, at_risk, reference

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