Troubled Youth at South Carolina's Department of Juvenile Justice Worked with Volunteers

Did you ever made a mistake as a kid? Of course you did, we all made more than our share. Whether it was getting into a fight or saying something you weren't supposed to say or just being disrespectful, we all made mistakes at one time or another in our youth. Most of those mistakes most likely didn't cause a great change in our lives. However, for some youth, their world has been drastically changed for the mistakes they've made. I recently got the chance to spend three days and two nights with these kinds of young people in the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice facility in Columbia, South Carolina. The "Community Behind the Fence" features children ranging in age from approximately 10-years-old to 18-years-old. The facility includes both young men and young women, but keeps them separate at all times.

The time I spent with these young people was for a community service project that built an outdoor visitation center, including a gazebo with a garden area, for the youth and their families. The project featured twenty of the finest and most well behaved youths that reside at the Columbia facility working with fifteen volunteers from Clemson University and more than 10 other participants from various state volunteering groups. The group from Clemson consisted of members of a university organization known as the Alternative Break Program. The university students used their fall break to volunteer for this project. While the project centered around the construction of the visitation center, the main goal was for the young participants to "build connections and rebuild lives."

Some may wonder why such special treatment or exception was given to troubled youth who are serving a penalty for crimes; however, the project focused on the positive outcomes of rehabilitating troubled youth and showing them that the community does care. The successful completion a beautiful visitation center with a gazebo and spectacularly planted foliage marked just one more step for the youths toward leading a successful life despite facing extreme adversity. Every single gentleman and lady at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice that participated was courteous to the volunteers and offered a tremendously warm welcome and nothing but their hardest working effort. When going to the facility, I expected to see broken dreams and confused children who had lost their way. And those things were there; however, it was determination to overcome adversity and the future success story that I saw in each face that surprised me. The experience left volunteers and youth alike with a new understanding of each other and how to help one another in the future. In a place where only sad stories are expected, many hopes and dreams can still be found. It's up to us to continue to give them a chance to succeed by simply dedicating our time in order to show that some people really do still care.