Juvenile Justice Commission Recognizes Extraordinary Efforts to Help Youth
/
Sheriff's Det. Randy Avila accepts an award in the Law Enforcement category from the Juvenile Justice Commission.
Leslie Smith’s math students have to come to class each day. They don’t have a choice.
They are incarcerated at Camp Barrett, a County juvenile detention facility for young men near Alpine.
Still, “they don’t have to pay attention,” he said. “You can’t make them learn.” Their minds are focused on such basics as survival, he said.
Smith has found a way to reach them for the past seven years.
For that he was honored Thursday by the San Diego County Juvenile Justice Commission, a 15-member volunteer commission charged with monitoring juvenile justice in the county. In all, the commission presented 2012 Awards in 10 categories at a lunch ceremony at University of San Diego’s Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice.
The awards honor people going to extraordinary lengths to help youth struggling in the community. Recipients ranged from law enforcement and probation officers, judges and volunteers to attorneys.
While encouragement, monitoring and mentoring are enough to turn some youth’s lives around, others need a lot more assistance, Commission Chair Kimberly Allan told attendees.
“Many are in gangs, and some have been involved even in serious crimes,” she said. “Some face lengthy periods of detention and some even go on to adult prison.”
The odds are stacked against many, who deal with family problems or no families at all, gangs, drugs or violence.
That’s where the award recipients come in.
Smith, who has taught at the San Diego County Office of Education’s Barrett High School for the past seven years, won in the “Educator/Court Schools” category. He said he looks for those “a-ha moments” in his interactions with students.
“You have to pounce on that and realize, ‘I turned a key to reaching that student and hopefully the whole class,” he said.
In his nomination form, colleague Elmer Vigilia wrote that Smith was “one of the most inspiring and enthusiastic math teachers I have ever met in my 30 years of working in public education.” Smith said he also uses projects that team up students and allow them to compete with each other. He emphasizes that the best part of the students lives is ahead of them.
In the At-Large Category, the Commission recognized the Juvenile Forensic Assistance for Stabilization and Treatment Program Staff (JFAST). The program, started just two years ago, focuses on helping mentally ill youth in the juvenile justice system. Recipients included Jorge Aguilar, Celia Engelman, Judith Goldberg, Marc Gotbaum, John Laidlaw, Michele Linley, Marcella McLaughlin, Samantha Meadows, Andres Negron, Jo Pastore, Hon. Polly Shamoon and Christine Thompson.
Winners also included:
- Deputy Probation Officer Linda Rodriguez in the Juvenile Probation/Probation Department category
- Protective Services Supervisor Mary Sharkey in the Child Welfare Services/HHSA category
- Det. Randy Avila of the Sheriff’s San Marcos Substation and San Diego Police Officer Ryan Welch in the Law Enforcement category
- Hon. Cynthia Bashant, Juvenile Court Presiding Judge, in the Judge category
- Attorney Tanya Starkweather in the Juvenile Court category
- Erica Marina-Alicia Ward of SAY San Diego’s Reflections Program in the Volunteer category
- Juan Carlos Barraza and Crystal Del Valle in the Former Youth in Care or Probation Category
- Tim Shelton, San Diego State University graduate and former SDSU Basketball player who is now leading the “26 Seconds” campaign at SDSU for youth volunteerism, mentorship and keynote speaking