Most of the graduates of 2012 have already taken the stage and turned their tassels—and the same goes for young men at the Los Prietos Boys Camp in the Los Padres National Forest.
The camp has steadily improved its educational and vocational training programs for juveniles sent to the camp by the county. The aim of the programs is to equip the boys with skills they can use to function in society.
The boys at the camp are required to attend Los Robles High School, where each student goes through a curriculum based on the amount of credits he has earned and his class standing. The camp also provides a credit recovery program to give boys the opportunity to catch up with the number of credits they are missing.
“The focus has changed from kids doubting they would graduate high school to fully believing that they could go to college,” said Dean Farrah, probation manager and director of the Los Prietos Boys Camp. “I came here in 1997 and when I first started working at this camp there was a broad perspective from these kids that they were never going to graduate high school. Over time, particularly with this program, kids expect it.”
A scholarship program is also provided for boys at the camp who want to continue their education. The scholarships come from donations from various service organizations throughout the county. A camper who has graduated from Los Robles High School can petition for as much as $500 a semester.
Graduates can also petition for a scholarship to pay for programs that offer training for technical skills. Farrah mentioned a couple of cases where campers received the $500 scholarship to use for a construction apprenticeship, and another boy who used it to go to barber school.
“For the vast majority of our kids we provide an opportunity, before they leave here, to know that they can be successful in an educational setting and they can feel confident about securing a job and doing good at work. That’s key,” said Farrah.
Vocational training is provided as a privilege for boys who subscribe to the program and whose behavior is on point every week. Campers have the opportunity to learn reprography at the new Los Prietos Business Center, experience catering and food preparation skills, as well as learning computer technology skills.
“My main goal is to have them realize that you don’t necessarily have to work for a computer company to utilize these skills,” said Melanie Sutton, who teaches computer classes at the camp.
During one of the computer technology classes, four boys sat at their desk dissecting a motherboard. They were enthusiastic about the program and expressed excitement and pride in what they were doing.
“I’ve learned how to switch up components, I’ve learned what every thing does. My dad loves to salvage computers and so now I feel like I can help him out with that. Or if someone else needs help with their computer, I can tell them that I can fix it for a few bucks,” said Jacob, 16.
Another boy, Sean, 17, was able to attend the computer class after receiving honor roll 13 times at the camp. At the time of the interview, he expected to be released in the next three days.
“My brother is a computer wiz and now I have something to bring back and hopefully impress him with,” Sean said.
The computers being refurbished by the campers are part of Computers for Families, a program that donates computers to families in need. From August to January, campers who have worked on the units go out into neighborhoods to hand computers out to families.
“This is a great program. They’re getting the skills and learning about the different components, and how they work,” Farrah said. “Hopefully they take what they learn with them and do some good things.”
Los Prietos Boys Camp also offers Toastmaster classes to help boys with their public speaking skills, as well as the Work and Gain Economic Sufficiency program (WAGES).
In WAGES, the boys work on employability skills and learn how to fill out job applications, conduct interviews, how to call back an employer, how to budget money, set up a bank account, and balance a check book.
Susannah Kaye, who is a marriage and family therapist, and has been working with the camp for 14 years, said education—especially the vocational training program—is essential to rehabilitating young men and getting them off the streets.
“They start feeling empowered and develop self esteem that they will be able to work and get employed. It’s the first time that they begin believing that. We’re purveyors of hope over here more than anything,” Kaye said.
According to Kaye, many boys who come to Los Prietos have been discouraged at the schools they come from or face peer pressure from their gangs to not excel in academics, which in time cause the boys to have low self esteem in their ability to excel in school or normal life.
“These kids need people to not judge them of why they join gangs. It’s not just for fun. It’s that they’re belonging; they’re getting respect from accomplishing something even if it’s negative. They’re getting things they need as human beings,” she added.
According to Kaye, when the boys at camp learn useful skills and excel in them, they begin developing self-esteem; a trait she says is missing from most boys who turn to gangs.
“It’s really a beautiful thing to see the hope come back to the boys’ eyes and see the self-esteem start to grow with the work skills they develop and the progress they make in school,” Kaye said.
Farrah noted a couple of former boys from Los Prietos who acknowledged that the camp had changed their lives for the better. One former camper joined the Army after graduating from Los Prietos and was given the opportunity to have the American flag flown around Fallujah, Iraq in dedication to someone. Today the flag hangs on the wall in one of the camp’s bunkers.
Contact Intern Jason Banania at intern@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 14-21, 2012.
