There’s a large number of kids today who are raised in a single-family home and the majority of those are raised by their mothers.  According to the National Fatherhood Initiative in 2017 there were more than 19.7 million children living with no father at home (Durden, 2019).  That’s 1 out of 4 kids without a father image.  This is a crisis.  Unfortunately, peers and older gang members begin to fill that void and it’s not a wonder a gang appears to represent what is missing.

A gang may appear to be a safe haven for a vulnerable child who has little love or support and no father at home, but it’s only a fantasy.

ARISE shares this premise, but unfortunately cannot magically give each child the gift of a dad or a supportive family.  That would be a fantasy; remote from reality.  Yet, youth today continue to join gangs because they falsely believe a gang represents what is missing in their life.

One size does not fit all situations.  Let’s face it, siblings who grow up in the same family tend to become very different people.  The same with at risk youth; a deficit in the home does not always result in joining a gang.  There are other factors to be considered.

This is why gang prevention education is critical.

Gang prevention goes beyond what is missing in the home.  Self-esteem, conflict, stress, and anger management are some of the elements entwined with the family situation.  For example, if a child’s self-esteem is low, what happens at home will push a child towards a gang quicker.  On the other hand, if a child is more resilient with a stronger core, they will not go in search of what’s missing.  Instead they learn to make the best of their situation and strive to be better; rather than be a victim.

The focus of ARISE is to empower and educate those willing to listen.  Our book, Gangs: 50+ Stories of Fractured Lives, is a great resource included in our Gang Prevention Program, as well as our Middle and High School curriculum.  Teens relate to each other more successfully than they do listening to an authoritative figure.  The Gang book is a collection of stories, which gives a troubled teen the ability to read peer written emotional experiences and imagine how life might be different if another direction is taken.  The reader gains clarity of what life would be like if they journey down the more difficult path.

Awareness is the key.  When a teen is aware of their choices, actions, and consequences, their self-esteem increases, conflict is minimized, and they learn to more easily deal with stress, worry, guilt, fear, and even success.

When awareness is sparked, the void begins to close, opening the door to constructive conversation. The pieces begin to fit together.

Ultimately, awareness and conversation are needed to help prevent a teen from joining a gang.  Gang prevention education does work!

By Karen Clark Nagy, July 31, 2019

To learn more about gang and drop-out prevention, anger management, self-esteem, and so much more, be sure to check out our Gang Prevention program, and our High School, and Middle School curriculum packages.  It’s up to us to ARISE to the challenge; to provide the missing pieces to help fill that void. 

ARISE depends on donations to continue to empower our youth.  You can help us by making a charitable donation.  Thank you for your support.

Resources:

Durden, T. (2019, June 16). Visualizing The Father-Absence Crisis In America. (Blog post).

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“We absolutely love the ARISE curriculum. It really helps us to achieve our program goals and outcomes for social-emotional learning. The master training helped us to understand and effectively use the curriculum and has allowed us the confidence we need to present the material to our students. We are excited to use the ARISE curriculum and well equipped to
make the most of our educational program.”
Patricia Demetriou
President/Founder
LifeSmartEducation.org
Grove City, OH

Jordan Spooner
Tamika Smith
DC College Access Program – Washington, DC

Theresa Thomas
Philip Bowen
William George Agency for Children Services – Freeville, NY

Michael Gallimore
Gulfstream Goodwill – West Palm Beach, FL

Michael Murphy
Support Team Tennis – Reading, Pennsylvania

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Many states are now analyzing strategies that will send youth to Community Based Organizations in order to curtail expenses and increase successful outcomes by providing youth with a wide range of life skills lessons such as anger management training, job readiness skills, job opportunities plus this essential component, family related programming, as alternatives to incarceration close to the youth’s home. ARISE offers extremely cost effective, proven programs covering all of the above that can easily be instituted by Community Based Organizations to help youth as an alternative to incarceration.

I have used the ARISE model for more than 10  years working with Juveniles involved in the correctional system, youth in foster care, as well as with adults inpatient psychiatric facilities and the community. ARISE is a program that has been extremely effective in working with the various populations teaching independent living and recovery skills.
Testimonial from Alvin Hinkle, MSW, CPM,Chief of Continuity of Care – Washington DC

Study: Juvenile Detention Not a Great Place to Deal With Mental Health Issues

The following is a very interesting article published on motherjones.com. A MUST READ for all people involved in Juvenile Detention and psychiatric care for them. Published by Samantha Michaels. July 23, 2015.

If you land in the hospital as an incarcerated teen, it’s more likely for mental health reasons—psychiatric illnesses, substance abuse, depression, or disruptive disorders—than for any other factor, says a new study.

Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine examined nearly 2 million hospitalizations in California of boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 18 over a 15-year period. They found that mental health diagnoses accounted for 63 percent of hospital stays by kids in the justice system, compared with 19 percent of stays by kids who weren’t incarcerated, according to their study published Tuesday in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

“Should we be getting them into treatment earlier, before they start getting caught up in the justice system?”

The study’s lead author, Dr. Arash Anoshiravani, said in a statement that it seems likely that many locked-up kids developed mental health problems as a result of earlier stressful events during their childhoods, such as being abused or witnessing other acts of violence.

We are arresting kids who have mental health problems probably related to their experiences as children… is that the way we should be dealing with this, or should we be getting them into treatment earlier, before they start getting caught up in the justice system?

Even if someone enters detention without a major mental health problem, she has a good chance of developing one once she’s there.

The World Health Organization cites many factors in prison life as detrimental to mental stability, including overcrowding, physical or sexual violence, isolation, a lack of privacy, and inadequate health services. And the problem is obviously not just limited to juvenile offenders: Earlier this year, a study by the Urban Institute found that more than half of all inmates in jails and state prisons across the country have a mental illness of some kind.

In the California study, kids in detention and hospitalized were disproportionately black and from larger metropolitan counties like Los Angeles, Alameda, and San Diego. Among children and teens in the justice system, girls were more likely than boys to experience severe mental health problems, with 74 percent of their hospitalizations related to mental illness, compared with 57 percent of boys’ hospitalizations. (Boys, on the other hand, were five times more likely to be hospitalized for trauma.)

Earlier mental health interventions could lead to major savings, the researchers added.

Detained youth in their study had longer hospital stays than kids outside the justice system, and a majority of them were publicly insured.

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• Rebecca Webb
• Therese Wright
• Carla D. Jordan
• Jeremy Reese
• Stephanie M. Andrews
• Melissa Dickey
• Eric Shaw Sr.
• Sharon R. Newcomb
• Misty Sullivan

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU!

ARISE offers three training methods to become a certified ARISE Life Skills Instructor.  The first option is the on-site option, either at an ARISE site or at your site (two days), next is the ARISE Live On-line Training which is delivered Live on line at set dates (2 days) and finally there is the self-paced ARISE Fully Online Life Skills Instructor training (+/- 20 hours) to be completed within 30 days from registration.

Hope to see you at one of these trainings soon!

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The comments about the training were very favorable.  After five days of intensive and sometime harrowing training, all of the participants stated that they now are confident training other facilitators in their organizations to become ARISE Certified Life Skills Instructors.

Watch for future Master Trainer workshops on our website!

One of the participants delighted the class with a great ARISE cake.

Congratulations to all of you!

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Shelley Doneghue’s son, Matthew Zwilling, lost his bout with bipolar depression when he committed suicide in 2014. Throughout his life, Doneghue sought local and regional services in hopes of finding a solution to his mental and emotional turmoil.

Doneghue discovered a gap in support services for troubled youth. After losing Matthew, she decided to tighten the gap. Doneghue said:

“I had to have a reason to go on. I want to help the kids like Matt. There are a lot of them who are suffering from depression and I don’t want any more to lose their lives.”

Doneghue founded The Paper House non-profit organization last year. Long-term goals of the organization include establishing a youth and community center in Olney to provide recreational, educational, self-awareness, and emotional healing activities as well as academic support, and employability training.

Community support is critical to achieve these goals. However, Doneghue is dedicated to helping local youth right now. She recently became a Life Skills Group Facilitator for the ARISE life-management skills program. The The Master’s Hands and Carrie Winter Trust assisted Doneghue in paying the certification costs.

The ARISE Foundation was established in 1986 to serve at-risk youth. The program provides at-risk populations with the information, know-how, and guidance they need to survive and succeed.

This month, Doneghue is bringing the program to youths within the juvenile justice system.

Linda Brown, juvenile-probation officer and member of 2nd Judicial Circuit Juvenile Justice Committee, said, “I’m so very thankful to have this additional resource available for the juveniles that are involved in the criminal justice system. This will provide them access to skills that will assist them in all areas of their lives as they move forward to hopefully be productive citizens.”

The life-management skills program launches in Olney at Master’s Hands on January 24. It is offered at no cost to students. Students will learn about transforming negative thought processes into positive thinking, planning for goal attainment, non-violent communication, job interview skills, talent and skills exploration, and more. The course will take approximately 14 weeks to complete. Classes are Tuesday and Thursday. The first session is being offered to youth in a private setting. Adult and public classes are expected to launch in April.

Willard Anderson, founder of The Master’s Hands, said, “I think it’s something that’s really needed here. I’m so thankful for Shelley stepping up and wanting to do this, and I’m thankful that the Carrie Winter grant gave us the funds to allow us to have her go through school for the life-skills classes. (Shelley) is basically going to work with the teenagers, but it’s needed all the way through. We’re looking for other ways to help people by training them.”

Contact The Master’s Hands to inquire about the program.

The Paper House non-profit is registered in the state of Illinois and is in the process of becoming a federally recognized 501(c)3 non-profit. KidZone Managing Director Cheri Guyer will assist The Paper House with business development and grant writing. This author sits on The Paper House board of directors and will offer facilitation and outreach.

Donations for The Paper House may be made at First National Bank in Olney.

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When asked what they liked most about the workshop, some of the comments we heard from the trainees were:

• The lesson plan. The training was great!
• The different ways to create a lesson plan.
• The ARISE Formula and how we got to express our own ideas. It was very helpful and gave us great ideas we can use with our own kids.
• The training was very interactive and never boring.
• The presenter was very knowledgeable in education and youth development.
• I liked how it was group oriented.
• It helped us to learn how to instruct the ARISE Life Skills curricula to our children. I believe this training would benefit any and every one that takes it.

Since ARISE was established in 1986 , it has trained and certified  almost 6,000 ARISE Life-Skills Group Facilitators who have taught nearly 6,000,000 documented hours of interactive ARISE Life Skills lessons for at-risk youth and teens across the United States and beyond. ARISE is also being used in Canada, China, Jamaica, England, Australia, Bahamas, Bermuda, India, Singapore, New Zealand, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Bosnia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kingdom of Bahrain, South Africa, Vietnam, Uganda, Nigeria and Haiti.

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The recent Heart of Florida Youth Ranch (HOFYR) Facilitator’s Class# 3-2016.  Lindford Hayes, Program Director and ARISE Master Trainer, held a 4-day facilitator’s training class at the Bowen Auditorium in Citra, Florida.  The training was very unique in that they have merged The ARISE Curriculum within their very own 5-Steps to Behavioral Change Model and their Behavior Intervention Plan to service the traumatic behaviors of foster care children placed at the HOFYR residential facility by the Department of Children and Families (DCF).

The six facilitators were trained and received their ARISE Life Skills Instructor Certification at the end of the training.  The facilitators are trained as direct care cottage parents (CP) responsible for the primary care of abused and neglected children disrupted from their families and then placed at the HOFYR by the Department of Children and Families until court ordered reunification action steps are successfully met by the family.   The cottage parent lives with the children within a ranch-style cottage environment 24/7.  They are enriched with behavioral management developmental tools to provide a system of normalcy within the lives of their children while separated.   Many of the unique behavioral goals assigned to the kids targets life fulfilling experiences that foster maximum development of the residents emotionally, spiritually, physically, and socially. Cottage Parents are expected to use common-sense parenting, the 5-Steps to Behavioral Change Model and Christian principles.

The cottage parent also facilitates life skill groups collectively along with the HOFYR clinical team during organized group settings and during the weekly positive peer culture family meetings that are conducted at the cottage.  The ARISE Life Skills material is being integrated into step three of the HOFYR 5-Steps to Behavioral Change Model (Teaching Step) to address the clinical needs of each youth as determined by an individualized 90-Day Master Treatment Plan.  Additionally, the ARISE Curriculum is being integrated into the HOFYR Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) as a positive pro-active consequential intervention tool to teach socially correct decision making life-skills to the youth when residing at The Ranch.

Their cottage parent teams uniquely spend time with these kids 24/7 until the children are reunified with their families, adopted, or aged out of the system at 18 years of age. The HOFYR facility provides residential direct care services for 34 youth who have been disrupted from their families.

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