Nonprofit works to connect with youth to prevent violence, crime
Nia Hinson
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Boone County Juvenile Justice Center currently houses 19 youth, although the facility holds 45 beds.
Justice Center Superintendent Tara Eppy said she thinks there’s discussions every few years about whether detention is intended to be correctional, restorative or rehabilitative.
She said she thinks it’s a mix of them all.
“I think first and foremost it’s for safety and security. Detention is supposed to be used for safety and security of the community,” Eppy said. “Once a kid gets here though, it’s really about trying to find out what gaps are going on and trying to bridge those gaps so that there’s not that higher level of recidivism.”
Eppy said Boone County has many resources throughout the county that work toward prevention and rehabilitation. The center works with providers that come into the facility and evaluate the youths before they are released into the community.
One of those providers is Destiny of H.O.P.E, a nonprofit organization in Columbia that works closely with youth.
Lonnie Lockhart Bey said he and Julian Jackman — who he also works at the nonprofit — are considered to be continuum navigators that work with youth connected with the justice program. He said the organization works to give children resources they need to break the cycle of making poor decisions.
That work can include anything from talking to children or visiting their homes.
He said he thinks much of the youth violence and crime is due to poverty and children not knowing how to process the pain or trauma they’ve experienced. That’s something they work closely with children to fix and eliminate.
Lockhart Bey said he has a special connection toward wanting to help these children because he was once them.
“I was the child without resources. I was the child that people had given up on,” Lockhart Bey said. “Ultimately, I fed into the narrative. I became what they told me I was and I know that with young children if you’re not careful, you create the monster you don’t want to see.”
Destiny of H.O.P.E offers an active learners day program for children who have been expelled from Columbia Public Schools. The program allows them to still learn and finishes classes even after expulsion.
Cornell Harris has been enrolled in the program since January. He says the program has helped turned his life around.
Harris said he ran into problems at school after skipping class and failing to complete school work. Months later, he said he’s now completed two of his classes and has A’s and B’s in the two. Harris said he thinks it’s a program students in similar situations should consider.
“It’s really going to help. I really feel like we could really make the world a better place,” Harris said.
Destiny of H.O.P.E is also offering several summer programs and other opportunities for youth. More information can be found on its website.