Program gives youth a second chance

EAST COUNTY — Since Larry Rose started visiting juvenile detention centers four years ago, the look in the eyes of the teenagers he has met have been engrained in his memory.

Rose expected the children at the detention centers to have “rough and tough” personas with bad attitudes, he said.

But they didn’t.

“They had this look — this look that said, ‘Can you help me?’” Rose said.“It just stuck with me.”
Rose responded. Yes, he can help them.

The full-time financial adviser founded Replay Outreach in 2011 — an organization that brings volunteers who have a passion for working with minors into Manatee and Sarasota counties’ juvenile detention centers, such as the Palmetto Youth Academy.

Now, Rose works toward a more permanent solution — a home for teenage boys in which they will stay for a year, after leaving detention centers. The project, Xtreme D, represents drive, determination, and discipline.

Rose and his team of 10 volunteers will host a luncheon May 2, at the Manatee Performing Arts Center, to inform attendees about Xtreme D. Dollars raised from the event will go toward the project.

Rose, a former pastor, hopes the home will fix the bigger problem that brings the youth back to juvenile detention centers, and eventually to prison — the “circular cycle.”

Youth are released from detention centers after nine to 18 months, depending on age and the severity of the incident. Sixty percent return, Rose said.

Children who return to their old neighborhoods, and who do the same activities that brought them to the detention center, will be back in the system, Rose said.

Replay has mentor programs in place that connect youth with volunteers who meet and talk with children when they return home. However, the effort isn’t enough, Rose said.

“There are good programs out there, like the YMCA,” Rose said, “but too many kids are slipping through the cracks.”

By creating a space away from bad environments and former relationships, formerly detained youth have a higher chance at living lives free of prison sentences, Rose said.

The home would provide a domicile for 12 boys, targeting older teenagers who have a desire to better their lives after they leave the detention center.

The limited number of participants will allow volunteers to give youth the attention they need. Rose and his team will conduct interviews to select youth for the program.

“A lot of kids say, ‘Yes, yes, I want to do it,’ but they don’t stick with it,” Rose said. “We’re not interested in those kids. We’re looking for kids who want to change.”

Volunteers will remain onsite with the teenagers at all times, providing more of a home environment than a school, Rose explained. He wants to create a family environment, one that fosters a key element Rose believes is missing from the teenagers’ lives — structure.

Volunteers will also help the teens enroll in school, or obtain their General Education Development certificates (GED) to later secure jobs.

Rose estimates that Replay needs to raise more than $232,000 to get the project started. Dollars help secure a facility, food and other necessities of the children in the program.

Rose hopes Replay’s upcoming events will spark interest in the community and help bring to life his goal of eventually creating multiple homes, including residences for teenage girls.

“If the community gets behind us, we’ll be able to do this,” Rose said. “We’re trying to give these kids hope that they can have another start, a replay. We ask them, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to hit a replay button?’”

IF YOU GO
Replay Outreach Kickoff Luncheon
When: Noon, Friday, May 2

Where: Manatee Performing Arts Center Kiwanis Hall, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton

Cost: Free

Info: Replay Outreach volunteers will educate the public on their current and future programs, including plans to create a transitional home for youth after they leave juvenile detention centers — Xtreme D. The event includes lunch.

Website: replayoutreach.org

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected]