| Young Offenders Get R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Juvenile offenders who are charged as if they were adults are particularly vulnerable in the criminal justice system, but since 1997 one program in Miami has been there to help them out.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T. is a juvenile offender reentry initiative run by Miami/Miami-Dade Weed and Seed for 14- to 17-year-olds. It provides mentoring and life-skills training to prevent recidivism and equip youth with “life action plans” to succeed.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T., which is a collaborative effort between the site, the Miami-Dade Department of Corrections, and the City of Miami Parks and Recreation Department, takes place in the Turner Guilford and Knight (TGK) Correctional Facility. The program tries to reach as many as possible of the 75 to 85 youth who are released annually from TGK. R.E.S.P.E.C.T. stands for different things; each new group of participants chooses issues and behaviors they find important, matches them to the program name, and then works on achieving related goals.
Before R.E.S.P.E.C.T., no one was working with juvenile offenders on their reentry plans. Today, the program boasts a zero percent recidivism rate over 1 year and has several success stories of participants who have found jobs and earned GEDs, or are attending college. It has all but eliminated fighting among youth within the prison and has secured job opportunities for all participants who were released last summer.
Over the past year, the program has become more formal, making its curriculum replicable and getting some funding from Project Safe Neighborhoods. “We knew it was working,” said Mary Norris, the site's manager of community relations and communication. “We needed to track it and prove it was making a difference.”
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.'s key components are life skills, group sessions, the R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Speaker's Bureau, mentoring, and aftercare. The program tries to help juvenile offenders obtain career goals by helping them to earn a high school diploma or GED, enroll in college or a technical program, get a job, and get involved with the community.
The R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Speaker's Bureau comprises individuals who volunteer their time to meet with the boys and talk to them about making changes in their lives. The speakers include professional athletes, ex-offenders, police, clergy, and teachers. Although the initial time commitment is minimal, many speakers become interested in spending more time to further mentor the youth.
The boys are told that if they do well in the R.E.S.P.E.C.T. program, they will get to play basketball. The sport helps them work on their conflict resolution skills and teamwork, Norris says, and coaches come in to work with the boys on their basketball skills as well as their behavior on and off the court.
Wilem Jose, the R.E.S.P.E.C.T. program manager, runs the weekly rap sessions and talks with the boys about why they are angry and disappointed. Many of the boys in the program have lived with abuse and neglect and have unstable homes; their role models are drug dealers and gang members.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T. participants work with their mentors, who are psychology and social work students from Florida International University, on issues related to their transition back into the community, substance abuse, and legal representation. Jose has applied for funding for more staff and more case managers.
Jose believes that if people really knew the stories behind the offenders, they would care about them. “They don't hear the story about boys who go to jail and get turned around,” he said. “But murder and mayhem make the 6 o'clock news.”
R.E.S.P.E.C.T. obtains monthly updates on offenders after they've been released and performs voluntary home visits. It is fairly easy to follow up on an offender's case if the boy lives in the local area, but it can be difficult if a youth lives outside the area. But those who are succeeding are actually proud to share news of their progress.
“Kids doing well will call to tell us,” Jose said.
Many ex-offenders want to be involved with boys and be mentors, as do current inmates. Jose has the boys read letters from men in the state penitentiary who want to tell the boys that they can change their ways.
“They're trying to open their eyes and show them that there are different paths,” he said.
For more information, contact:
Mary Norris
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