Territorial Youth Services doesn't look for publicity. From the start, founders of the restorative justice program decided it wasn't about recognition, it was about helping youth in conflict with the law.
The program is run out of Territorial Drive Alliance Church in North Battleford. It is 24 years old, and approximately 1,800 young people, male and female, have been through the program.
Director Bill Amundsen says Saskatchewan Department of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing refer the youth to Territorial Youth Services. Some come from custody and some come from the community. The program serves a large catchment area in the Northwest.
TYS takes on projects in the Battlefords community as a way to teach youth a variety of work skills, provide a wage for them to work off fines or pay restitution and instill a sense of responsibility and accomplishment.
The youth involved fall under Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act, which replaced the Young Offenders act in 2003. As such, they cannot be identified, but that doesn't mean they aren't willing to talk about their experience.
Three young men who agreed to an interview with the Regional Optimist recently said they were glad to be in the TYS program. It gave them something to do, a chance to "get out of the building," and an opportunity to learn new skills.
All three said they planned to use the skills they developed with TYS to help them find work. One young man plans to take it even further, to use the skills he's learned to help others; he likes the idea of becoming someone's mentor.
Their work projects include renovating houses, shingling, building decks and fences, lawn care, landscaping, painting and shovelling snow. The morning the Regional Optimist visited them at Territorial Drive Alliance Church, they were preparing for a day of shed building.
"We did two and half sheds yesterday," said one young man with pride.
They laughed, talked and acted just like any other youth their age. Why, then, were they in trouble?
The young man who would like to become a mentor says he has anger issues.
Another says his trouble started with drinking and gangs.
The remaining young man said alcohol was what got him into trouble.
All three say they don't want to go back to what got them there in the first place and they see the skills they are learning as a chance to turn their lives around.
Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act highlights the protection of the public as a key goal of the youth justice system. It is intended to protect the public by holding young offenders accountable by promoting their rehabilitation and reintegration into society and by preventing crime by addressing the circumstances underlying their offending behaviour.
That's where TYS comes in. Amundsen said the youth who get involved in the program are there initially because they have to be; as directed by the justice department. But once in the program, he said, there is a visible transformation in most kids. They enjoy it, he said, and they get a great deal of satisfaction in being productive.
"The work aspect is huge," he said. At the end of day, the tangible, positive things they've done helps them feel better about themselves. Kids need immediate gratification in positive areas, he added.
But that doesn't mean they have it easy. They work hard, said Amundsen. It has to be as close to a real job as possible so they are prepared; they need to learn there is a standard the work world expects. On board to help give them that real world experience is former general contractor Matt Whitbread, TYS supervisor. Amundsen has a degree in mechanical engineering and gave up a career in manufacturing, and half his wage, to work with youth. Building lives is more important than building motor homes, he said.
While TYS doesn't have the resources to track all the kids who have passed through the program, Amundsen, Whitbread and other TYS staff and volunteers have seen many success stories.
Amundsen recently ran into a former TYS participant. He was a young man who had been disconnected from his family, had stolen from his parents. While in the TYS program, he reconnected with the family who had continued to love him. His dad hired him, and he now has his own business.
Amundsen knows of another youth who has been steadily employed since the program. It got him thinking, said Amundsen, and now he always has a job.
Another works in the oilfield, has bought a new truck and is saving for a house. This young man had not been "complimentary" to Amundsen during the program because he worked him so hard. Later, however, he learned that was the real world.
"Lots of kids have straightened out," Amundsen said.
There are disappointments, of course, he said. Some fall back into trouble. Some are even returned to TYS.
Success is about changing the way youth think, said Amundsen. If you create momentum, like a snowball, it continues. He points out that there are many organizations working with kids at risk and all of them have success stories. It's a caring community, he said, and TYS is just trying to do its part.
TYS is a faith-based program. Included in its objectives of holding youth accountable for their behaviour while providing them with interpersonal, life and employment skills, is the sharing of the belief that a relationship with Jesus Christ will produce positive permanent change in the life of an individual. Devotional activities are optional, but Amundsen said that over the last 24 years, fewer than 10 youth have refused to take part.
The Bible can be used as an owner's manual. A model that talks about integrity, being a person of one's word and being truthful can be applied to the TYS participants' workday, and how they treat their customers,.
Over the years, TYS has gained the confidence of the community and its customers. Amundsen says it speaks well of the TYS program that its had some of the same customers for 22 years. TYS doesn't have to advertise to get work projects. Its reputation keeps it busy.
In the beginning, it was nearly all menial jobs such as picking garbage. But TYS likes to take on projects where youth can learn skills. Now, in addition to its list of other projects, TYS is completely gutting and renovating houses. Two have been done in the last two years.
TYS still takes on snow shovelling jobs and yard work, and will continue with those kinds of projects. TYS has filled a niche working for seniors, single moms and lower income people, and has enjoyed a good relationship with the city and business community. Businesses often hire them for building projects.
Amundsen said there have been unanticipated spin offs from some of their projects, such as seniors being able to stay in their own homes longer because of the extra help.
True restorative justice means meeting the needs of both offender and victim, said Amundsen, so it's important to be seen in the community. Customers have taken the time to meet the youth, visit with them, to see that these aren't just "bad kids." Additionally, he said, it's important for youth to see the way people are impacted by theft and other crimes; it's important for youth to see their customers as real people.
One of its most meaningful contracts recently was with the Battlefords Community Players. As part of an arts funding program, the club undertook a co-operative building and renovation project on its home base in Battleford. With the assistance of 25 local business sponsors, TYS and BCP volunteers, a garage for stage sets was completed and repairs and renovations to the main clubhouse were started. TYS youth were able to learn skills in framing, siding, insulating and roofing.
Amundsen said TYS also found the project meaningful because BCP is an organization that helps tie the community together. It's important for kids to think beyond themselves, he said, and they were made aware of what the project meant. It was also a good opportunity for TYS youth to make contacts with local trades and businesses. About 20 youth worked on the BCP project at one time or another, including kids from Drumming Hill Youth Centre, who were brought in to help lift walls.
It's all part of wanting to make a difference. Youth have to look at a community and determine what their role is in helping that community, said Amundsen, whether its a project like BCP's or shingling a porch for a low income person.
"Youth are looking for purpose. Purpose is what drives a person, " said Amundsen. "When youth get passionate about something, look out."
