SC Youth ChalleNGe Academy helps at risk teens turn their lives around

By Kay B. Day

SC Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Jean Hoefer Toal enters the Women Honor Valor Luncheon. Toal is flanked by cadets from the SC Youth ChalleNGe Academy.As we waited for the program to start, I noticed two long lines of teens standing in uniform. Each of the cadets, as they’re called, appeared sharp and alert, with a facial expression reflective of discipline the military is famous for. I wondered who they were.

I was at the SC Women Honor Valor luncheon to present a poem in honor of the recipients of the Medal of Honor. The luncheon was a prelude, a gesture of support, for the Medal of Honor Convention 2010 to be held in Charleston on Sept. 23-Oct. 3. Three living Medal of Honor recipients, the Chief Justice of the SC Supreme Court, three former First Ladies of South Carolina and too many other dignitaries to name participated in the program.

After the program, I had a few minutes of chat time available, and I wanted to know who those cadets were. MG Nelson Lacy, commander of the SC State Guard, told me they were from the SC National Guard’s Youth ChalleNGe Academy. The program, he said, “helps kids turn their lives around.”

He said what many of the youth in the program need is “a little bit of structure” in their lives.

As he said that, I watched these young people in their crisp uniforms. And Lacy’s words rang true. I understand at-risk youth because off and on for many years I either worked for or volunteered in programs that tried to help them, as the general said, “turn their lives around.”

 I recalled one young man in a teen program as he helped me put things away after a fundraiser. The program wasn’t a military structure—it was a group home run by a woman dedicated to helping children. He was such a nice fellow, I asked him about life before the program.

He described moving from place to place, sometimes lucky enough to be with relatives. His mother became sick. School was a chore he hated. He lost sight of any goals he might have been able to form. And he got in trouble with the law. That program was his salvation.

So those young people from the Youth ChalleNGe Academy struck a chord with me.

The program functions under the auspices of the SC National Guard. Students must apply to join the program and they must be drug free. There’s a residential component for the 16-19 year olds, followed by a mentoring component.

"It is amazing when you actually see what they are doing to turn these young people around," says Lt. Col. W. Thomas Smith Jr., public information officer for the S.C. Military Department's Joint Services Detachment. "What sets Youth ChalleNGe apart -- makes the program unique -- when compared to other similar 'boot camps' around the country is the fact that there is a 12-month mentoring program after the students graduate. In other words, students don't just leave Youth ChalleNGe and fall back into a troubled environment without a trained and qualified mentor."  

More than 3,000 young men and women have graduated, and completing such a program gives them a better opportunity for a productive life. For many, the program may be the first time they have had consistency and discipline in their lives.

My own experiences with troubled youth convinced me lack of consistency in the home and lack of structure in their lives are a major factor when young people lose themselves in a culture of hopelessness. Discipline requires order. We often talk about young people making choices. The Youth ChalleNGe program represents a good choice, a positive option aside from the countless poor choices available to at risk children.

While participating in the program, Youth ChalleNGe cadets can also take the high school equivalency exam.

A story in the Times and Democrat (Orangeburg,SC) mentioned the program’s ongoing struggle for funding. Of all the programs we fund, it seems to me this is one of the most important. There is no work more valuable than helping a young person change his life from foundering to focused. Programs like this actually help a young person build a future.

Brig. Gen. John A. Shuler, Deputy Adjutant General for State Operations, the SC Military Dept., commented on the financial challenges. “This is a program that funds through the National Guard Bureau—it was a 60 federal, 40 percent state match— and the military department has come up with  the 40 percent. This past year congress changed it from 60-40 to 75-25. In SC you’ve seen drastic budget cuts. The state military budget for SC [includes the National Guard] has been cut 49 percent from 4 years ago.”

But Shuler sees the academy as a vital program. He said, “This program—these are the young folks who’ve been put out of the public school system or private—they have no other recourse.” The Academy works with students on 8 core academic components so students can take the GED.

There’s also a personal benefit. “The most rewarding part of my job is working with Youth challeNGe. You go to graduation it’s an average of 10 family members there for each graduate. Absolute quiet.” Then he deadpans, “And when it’s over bedlam occurs.”

The paper said approximately 15-20 percent of the cadets go on to join the military. Shuler said more than 600 have gone into the Guard or some other branch of service. Others enter college or the workforce.

The cadets participating in SC Women Honor Valor were in the presence of some mighty heroes—recipients of the country’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor. Each guest of honor walked between those lines flanked by youth. Everyone in the audience looked at those young men and women with respect. None of them have medals—yet—but each cadet has already won a major battle, one that is up close and personal.

The SC Youth ChalleNGe Academy plays a vital role in those personal battles waged by teens who want to make something of themselves. We would hope that program stays around for a long time to come.

Thus far the Guard has been able to keep the program going. Shuler said, "We’ve been able to get different foundations and grants. We’re struggling to keep it alive."

There is no program more deserving of financial support. By investing in these youth, we are investing in our own future as a community at large, and more important, the Youth ChalleNGe Academy is teaching them to invest in themselves.

Cadets from the SC Youth ChalleNGe Academy lined up as dignitaries entered the Women Honor Valor luncheon in Columbia, SC. The luncheon was held to support the Medal of Honor 2010 Convention in Charleston, SC.