CENTRE– Extended Family recently brought its youth leadership program to the Alabama Department of Youth Services’ Autauga Campus for the first time.
Staff members spent two weeks leading the Extended Family Leadership Academy for young men who live at the campus. The program gives students practical tools to make healthy choices and build successful futures.
During the academy, students studied job readiness, financial independence, effective communication, personal health, and healthy relationships. Program leaders also encouraged them to follow Extended Family’s motto, “Lead yourself.”
Helping Students Find a Better Path
Extended Family partners with juvenile diversion programs across Alabama. These programs help young people leave destructive choices behind and move toward more positive goals.
Through this approach, students gain skills that can help them become successful adults, employees, spouses, parents, and community members. The programs also provide support during a critical time in each student’s life.
Many participants face challenges at home as well as in their communities. In fact, Extended Family reports that its surveys show more than 90% of students in juvenile diversion programs have an incarcerated loved one.
As a result, the organization created its programs to help break the generational cycle of incarceration. Staff members teach leadership, responsibility, communication, and decision-making skills that students can use throughout their lives.
Extended Family Serves Northeast Alabama
In addition to its work at the Autauga Campus, Extended Family provides youth programs in several Northeast Alabama counties.
Staff members serve students through STAR in Cherokee County, the DeKalb Youth Services Center in DeKalb County, and SPAN in Etowah County. They also lead programs through Success Academy and Coosa Valley Youth Services in Calhoun County.
Some students enter these programs because officials consider them at risk. Others qualify as children in need of services. However, each student receives encouragement and guidance aimed at helping them choose a more positive direction.
Extended Family views its work as part of a second chance for young people. Ultimately, the organization hopes its support will help students create better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.
“Our goal is to offer them the extra support they need to be successful through our motto, ‘Lead yourself,’” the organization stated.
More information about Extended Family and its programs is available on the organization’s website. Additional details about juvenile diversion programs can be found through the Alabama Department of Youth Services.
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