Broken Homes
From what Retzer has seen, many of the problems in the youth are related to the deterioration of the family structure. “Many of them grow up in broken homes,” Retzer explained, “they live in homes run by mom or grandma.”
This often causes them to have a lack of respect and no fear of authority, “Which all goes back to the father image,” Retzer said, “the men are missing.”
Their hope is that by providing a godly man or woman in the lives of the youth that they will find some sense of stability. “It’s all about relationship building,” Retzer said, “ We just need people who are willing to give up to 2-3 hours a week to live out Christ before the youth, whether it’s taking them to McDonalds or for a walk in the park.”
Reaching Out
The ministry provides Biblical classes on anger management, family dynamics, and abstinence from drugs and alcohol. Their hope is to keep the youth from getting too deep into the system and to reduce the number that could end up in an adult correctional facility later in life.
Typically, a teen that enters Detention Youth Services (DYS) or spends any amount of time in prison spirals downward due to the combination of long periods of isolation and being around other troubled youth.
“Many of our kids get in the system and get stuck,” Retzer explained, “There was one young girl who went down and now she’s a cutter and they wont let her out because they think she’s mentally wacked, but she didn’t go down that way. I’m sure part of what the cutting is about is the fact that she’s stuck in there.” |
