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DONORS!

• Aldi
• Celebrations Party Store
• Costco (Christiana)
• Frito Lay
• Paper Factory
• Popular Greetings
• Redner’s
• RK Environmental
• Rock Springs Generation Facility
• Target
• Utz
  

We participate in the Combined Federal Campaign. Please consider a donation to our agency! Our CFC code is(54261), and by the way, we are part of United Way funding too!

SUCCESS Stories

Greg* had been suspended for 45 days from school for an incident that occurred during his attendance at a FBLA conference in Atlanta, Georgia.  Greg was put into the Alternative Suspension Program (ASP) and was assigned Mr. Brown* as his home and hospital teacher.  The minute he started, it was evident that he was a very motivated young man.  Even though he only received six hours a week of instruction, he had homework that was always completed and returned on time.  After his time with Mr. Brown, he would ask for additional work to do until it was time to do his community service.  During informal counseling sessions with Mr. Brown and the ASP case manager, Greg admitted many time the error in judgment he made and was remorseful for his action.  Because of his unique situation, Greg was transferred to another high school to complete his senior year.  Even with having to deal with an entirely new situation, Greg maintained a 3.49 GPA and was ranked 22 out of 213 seniors.  Greg is currently a freshman at the University of Delaware. *Name Change

Scott* was referred to the Perryville Police Department Juvenile Outreach Program because he was arrested for possession of paraphernalia.  Scott shared with the program case manager that he used to pop pills, smoke crack, cocaine, and smoke weed and took steroids.  Most of the drugs he took were because he felt inadequate and wanted to feel better about himself.  Scott admitted that if he didn’t get arrested and wasn’t given the option to join the Outreach Program, his life would still be spiraling out of control.  With ongoing screenings and with the support of the program, he can now confidently pass drug screenings and he now feels like he has a new lease on life.  Scott was failing his senior year of high school and was making bad decisions.  He contributed his bad behavior to the people he was associating with.  Scott has done volunteer work for the Outreach Program and has been the biggest juvenile advocate of the program.  Scott is now well on his way to graduating high school and taking the right steps to put all of his bad decisions behind him. *Name Change

A student, who is a patient of the School-Based Health Center, had an asthma flare up during school.  Normally the school would have called the student’s parents.  The parent would then have to call their doctor for an appointment that day.  If there were no openings in the doctor’s office, then the parent would have to take the child to the emergency room.  The emergency room can be time consuming and costly for the parent.  Instead, the student went to the Health Center and received treatment for the asthma from the nurse.  A prescription was written for an inhaler and the student was sent back to class.  A follow up with the primary care physician was recommended to complete the process.

Matthew* enrolled in the Bridges Detour offered by Youth Services Agency program in January 2004. A high school junior, he had continuous behavioral problems and was failing all his classes. Matthew also needed to make some progress towards improving his home life. Matthew’s parents were very interested in the Detour program and hoped it would help him get back on the right path. They were concerned if he did not turn his life around, he would begin to set a bad example for his two younger stepbrothers.

Matthew was very interested in the Detour program and looked forward to making improvements in his life. Some of the goals he set for himself were to improve his grades and to retain a job. Detour provided him with anger management classes through Family Services Association and tutoring was offered each week. Matthew consistently attended both activities and showed improvement.

At school, Matthew’s guidance counselor noted an improvement in his behavior and grades. At the end of the third marking period Matthew was on the honor roll (A- in Technology, A in US History, B in English 11, and an A in Music). Matthew joined a volunteer fire company where he was training to be an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). He was also volunteering with the Detour program as a mentor and tutor for an elementary student.

At the age of 17, Matthew started to work toward a career path as an EMT and graduating from high school. Proud of his accomplishments, Detour will continue to support Matthew in all his future endeavors. Matthew is one of two youth who represented Youth Services Agency at the National Youth Employment Coalition's Youth Advocacy Day in Washington D.C. on September 15, 2004. As a member of the youth panel, he had a chance to question representatives from the Bush and Kerry campaigns as well as participate in other activities. * Name changed

In September of 2003, a quiet, withdrawn boy had just been released from the Carter Center and was on electronic monitoring. As part of his probation, Frank* was required to complete 100 community service hours. Frank lacked any kind of a support system and came from a household where domestic violence and substance abuse was a daily occurrence. Frank also used and sold marijuana and crack-cocaine. After two more arrests and being evicted from their home, Frank realized that his life was going in a downward spiral.

Through the Bridges program, Youth Services Agency offered him the opportunity to complete his community service hours at Elk Neck State Park, Fair Hill Nature Center and our local Goodwill. Frank attended five sessions of GED classes over an eight-month span at Youth Services before passing his practice exam. After completing his community service hours, Frank was released from electronic monitoring. Frank obtained his birth certificate, received his learners’ permit and completed driver’s education. Job Readiness and Computer Literacy were also completed at the Bridges program.

In addition to his struggles, Frank¹s mother was incarcerated, their home and his car was vandalized. His brother and sister were sent to live with their fathers. Frank¹s biological father would not allow him to come to his home in New York. Child Protective Services stepped in after a Bridges case manager made a report and he was placed in foster care.

Since then, Frank remained drug free. In December Frank obtained his Maryland High School Diploma and is planning to take the test for his drivers license. While in a stable home, he has gained social skills and an obvious self-confidence. Frank has managed to accomplish many of his goals through the support of Bridges and his foster family. He has achieved part-time employment and Frank is now awaiting his ASFAB test in order to enlist with the United States Army. Frank also volunteers a lot of his time with the Foster Family Association. During a short time in this program he has emerged a successful young man. *Name changed