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Youngstown kids learn value of following the law
By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK
YOUNGSTOWN
Being incarcerated means your freedom is taken away.
That was the point of a program Saturday for students in the Youngstown City Schools Afterschool Alliance and the Youth Police Academy. The event took place at the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center on East Scott Street. Some parents attended as well.
“It’s a proactive, prevention-type program,” said Delphine Baldwin-Casey, commander of the Youth Police Academy. “Kids need to learn [that] being incarcerated means your freedom is being taken away, and learn the things that you can’t do, how somebody has to tell you when to eat, when to sleep, all the things that you won’t be able to do.”
Rollen Smith, program facilitator, illustrated the point with a series of stories about kids who ended up imprisoned in the justice system.
“He’s not a bad kid,” he explained about one person. “He made some bad choices.”
He asked the students, age 6 to 15, about career plans. A variety of answers, including doctor, vet, artist and engineer, were given.
Those careers are all attainable, he told the kids.
But along the way, he said, will be some adversity.
“It’s rough being a young person today,” Smith acknowledged.
Brother and sister Andre and Aniya Ward said they were glad they attended the program.
“It’s a lot different than what I see on TV,” said Andre, 15.
The stories Smith told are strong, he added.
“He’s telling the truth about what’s going on,” he said.
The program is helpful, agreed Aniya, 13.
“I really want to be like my mom,” she said. “Because every day she gets up and sometimes she has to take another job and she struggles with us because we don’t have our dad in our life anymore.”
Smith’s stories make the justice system seem more real, she said.
Aniya plans a career in the cosmetology field.
“I’ve been so into it,” she said.
Andre would like to be a dancer and own his own dance studio. He’s also interested in working on cars.
Both said they realize they need to stay out of prison to accomplish those goals.
A tour of the Juvenile Justice Center was included in the event.
The Youth Police Academy was part of the Youngstown Police Department for several years.
The program ended when Baldwin-Casey retired. It’s now part of the afterschool program in the Youngstown City Schools.
That program builds upon academic lessons learned in class with other skills also incorporated.