The charity serves thousands of at-risk youth.
By Jeffrey Prang / Special to The Malibu Times
Created in 1985, the Sheriff’s Youth Foundation celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The program was established to provide at-risk youth in the economically disadvantaged neighborhoods of Los Angeles County with safe opportunities to grow and develop the tools they need to succeed in life.
Young people who participate in the foundation’s programs interact with Sheriff’s deputies, who serve as positive role models to help program participants develop leadership skills, build good character and self-esteem, formulate a positive view for their own future and gain the confidence needed to resist the negative influences of drugs and gangs.
“Crime prevention programs focused on youth are the key to building safer communities,” Sheriff Lee Baca said. “We must provide at-risk youth in the economically disadvantaged neighborhoods of Los Angeles County with safe opportunities to grow and develop the tools they need to succeed in life.”
SYF programs are free, paid for by private contributions and through other private/public partnerships. The agency is made up of four primary programs: Youth Activity Leagues, the STAR program, the VIDA program and 999 For Kids.
Youth Activity Leagues and Youth Centers provide safe havens for at-risk youth to engage in sports, games and educational activities. The leagues operate out of county public parks in disadvantaged neighborhoods that the Sheriff’s Department has reclaimed from local gangs, while the centers are constructed or renovated in high-need areas where few such facilities and programs exist. Activities are created to meet the specific needs and preferences of the surrounding communities and include pursuits such as tutoring, homework assistance, academic enrichment, computer classes, boxing, martial arts, basketball, soccer, flag football, folk dancing, drama, scuba diving and camping.
The SYF collaborates with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, public school districts, individual schools, community groups, corporations, businesses, foundations and interested individuals in the community to develop these youth programs. The Sheriff’s Department provides the deputies that mentor the youth and coordinate, operate and staff the programs.
The STAR program provides drug, gang, and violence-prevention education to students throughout Los Angeles County. The deputies assigned to the STAR Unit work with 202 schools in 30 school districts, teaching more than 46,000 students on a monthly basis. Programs have been proven to be effective in preventing tobacco use, alcohol use, drug use and violence. In 2002-03, the STAR program delivered alcohol-and-drug-abuse prevention education to an additional 50,000 students in 214 Los Angeles County schools.
The VIDA program is specifically designed for at-risk youth who have begun to demonstrate behaviors that may lead them to gangs and other criminal behavior. VIDA is a 16-week program, overseen by Sheriff’s deputies and community volunteers, that redirects negative behavior through a boot-camp style discipline. During this intensive 12-week program, participants engage in community service, physical training, health education, career guidance and life skills development.
The VIDA program has been implemented countywide to provide nonviolent, at-risk youth between the ages of 11 and 17 with the opportunity to learn how to make better life choices and take responsibility for planning their future. Young people are often referred by the Juvenile Courts to the VIDA program. VIDA also provides a family guidance component to the training by offering parenting classes, family counseling and youth counseling.
999 For Kids was developed to help physically and mentally challenged foster children in Los Angeles County who are victims of the most severe cases of child abuse, neglect and domestic violence. SYF has partnered with the Department of Children and Family Services to identify these special needs children. 999 For Kids provides sport wheelchairs, computers, special education classes, toys, games and trips to summer camps.
Jeffrey Prang is the special features writer for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.