MYF Works with DCS to Provide Reintegration Opportunities for Young Persons

The MultiCare Youth Foundation (MYF) is actively working with the Department of Corrections (DCS) to provide reintegration opportunities for young persons, through the European Union (EU)-funded BRIDGE project.

These young persons are individuals who are within the correctional system or have had trouble with the law.

Executive Director of the MYF, Alicia Glasgow Gentles, told JIS News that the DCS updates the Foundation and makes recommendations for persons to participate in the programme.

“What we try to do is get the support of the DCS in identifying those people who would be eligible for services. It is challenging sometimes because of way the court system works, but we’re also now working to be more aligned with some of the Justice Ministry programmes that have a similar objective,” Mrs. Glasgow Gentles said.

She noted that programmes like the BRIDGE project provide youth with an opportunity to see a better alternative for themselves.

“Reducing recidivism is a big part of it, but also supporting reintegration. The R in our BRIDGE project is really about reintegrating. One of the benefits of that partnership is young people who are in the system are already a captive audience,” Mrs. Glasgow Gentles said.

“It is incumbent on us to provide those kinds of services that allow them to build skills while they’re there. But again, a number of them are not necessarily there (in the DCS) for a long time, depending on whether they’re on remand or on probation, many of them have different stays,” she noted.

She further argued that by fully understanding the processes of the justice system, the MYF can better tailor or create other interventions for different groupings within the DCS.

The EU BRIDGE Project focuses on Building through Reintegration, Intervention, Development, Growth, and Education to prevent youth crime and violence by targeting at-risk youth aged 15 to 29 in specific communities.

Through collaborative efforts with key stakeholders, the project aims to enhance socio-economic capacities, reduce individual risk levels associated with crime and violence, and disrupt cycles of community conflict.

The MYF works with remanded youth and ex-juvenile offenders from the DCS to be reintegrated into school, while providing other opportunities for social and economic upliftment.