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THE SHORTSTOP
PROGRAM |
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What is the SHORTSTOP Program?
The cost for the program is
$100.00 for both sessions. If the juvenile and their family are
not able to pay the full amount of the program cost, we can work
with them on a payment plan. A juvenile need not be from Long
Beach to participate in the program. |
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| "SHORTSTOP helped me to learn that
there are consequences for my actions and that it's not worth
it to break the law. I don't want to go to jail." --SHORTSTOP Participant |
"I'm trying
to talk to my kids more instead of yelling at them every time
I try to communicate. I realize now how important it is to talk
with my children at dinner and ask how their day was." "I think it is a wonderful opportunity for kids and parents to connect in a way they would not have been able to if we did not have Short Stop as an option. Kids make mistakes like all people do. When people are just experiencing a need to suddenly break out on their own and decide to make their own choices without advice, they often make choices that turn out to be not such good ideas and for many young kids that means getting caught doing something against the law. I believe that too often too many of these kids that get into trouble would have a far better chance to turn around and learn to make better choices if they were not thrown into a system that does not have much to offer in the way of compassion and understanding. All they can possibly learn from an experience like that is how to be a smarter criminal and how to be a tougher criminal. I've seen it too often to not be aware of the effects the system can and does have on far too many young adults. I hope that Short Stop and other
programs like it become more a part of the system than the later
choices such as Juvenile Hall." |
"I wanted to write this letter because
I thought I should say thank you. I just got the "I learned"
page in the mail and it made me reflect on what has happened
in the past 5 months of my life. Although Shortstop was intimidating
at first I really learned something. I know that I don't want
to end up in jail or something close to it. I have goals and
dreams like any other person and even though I made a big mistake,
I learned from it. I am now going to be Sophomore Class President
and I received a 3.4 GPA for the last semester in school. I know
that I could have achieved those things even if I hadn't attended
the Shortstop program but I now have my priorities set straight.
I need to focus on my school work and not something stupid like
stealing from a store. It was not easy going through what I went
through, but I am glad that now it's all over and I can look
back and see what a major impact it had on my life. What I did
not only affected me but it affected my family and the community.
I truly learned so much from everything I went through and one
of the reasons was the Shortstop program. Thank you again!" --SHORTSTOP Participant |
| "Interviewing the community volunteer
was very interesting and important. She was very helpful and
nice. I would love to talk to her again because I would like
to go into the same profession in the future." --SHORTSTOP Participant |
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| "Why do I volunteer to instruct
for SHORTSTOP? I'm a criminal defense attorney and I'm tired
of seeing young people throw their lives away. Through SHORTSTOP
I can help kids turn their lives around." --SHORTSTOP Volunteer |
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| "Everyone complains about crime,
particularly juvenile crime. SHORTSTOP does something about it." --Los Angeles Daily Journal |
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