Full Notification

The Friends of the Norwalk Sheriff's Station are once again hosting a BBQ luncheon fundraiser for the PRIDE Youth Intervention Program.

HELP SUPPORT A GREAT CAUSE!

When: June 20, 2012
Time: 11:00 am till 1:30 pm
Where: Norwalk City Hall Lawn. “Look for the big white tent”
Cost: Only $7.50 a plate for steak and all the fixings

What is the PRIDE Program you ask? It’s a 12-week long youth intervention program to address a serious problem in our community!

The Norwalk Sheriff’s Station has identified a real need for a youth intervention program that targets the middle school aged students. This was determined by the amount of juvenile contacts with our deputies, talking with parents who are asking for help, and actively engaging in community events in the cities of La Mirada, Norwalk and unincorporated Whittier. The clergy council members with the Los Angeles Sheriff Department in Norwalk were asked to assist with creating a program to help these kids and their families. The Clergy members are under the leadership of Capt. Pat Maxwell, Sgt. Brian Doyle and Clergy Team Leader Tom Jones and Arthur McKibben.

You ask “what is the problem?” There is no “one” answer, but a magnitude of problems. Kids today are faced with a constant influence to use drugs, join gangs, start tagging, or using alcohol. The Sheriff station, schools and churches have received numerous calls inquiring if there are any programs in our community for their teens. These are teens that are teetering on the edge of getting into the gang life, or hurting themselves with drugs or alcohol.

Personal Responsibility In Development & Ethics Program (PRIDE) was created to address this problem. This is a faith based program where clergy leaders and active members of their churches are used as mentors and instructors. The program targets teens between the ages of 12 and 16 who have "dabbled in drugs and graffiti," or hanging out with gang members, but are not actual gang members yet.

This is an “at risk youth” program with mentors and parental involvement. It is designed to help parents with their teens to make good choices in life. A major challenge for us as parents and as a community is to combat negative influences on our children. The PRIDE program is designed to help teens realize that they are the ones who set the course of their lives now with good or bad choices.

The PRIDE program theme is "Choices" along with these 3 basic components; Component 1 is sessions and outing, Component 2 mentors, and Component 3 parental involvement. The program focuses on 2 parts; Part 1 bad choices in life comes with harsh realities in the first 6 weeks; Part 2 good choices in life come with good realities following next 6 weeks focus is career choices with a completion ceremony on week 12.

During the 12 week program these teens are exposed to the harsh realities through sessions and outings each week. Along with a personal time of reflection with their personal mentor; each teen is given time to reflect on the direction of their own life now and what could be the possible out comes in the immediate future.

Please come join us for this worthy cause and help make a difference in the lives of “At-Risk” youths.