.png)
THRIVEcast - Focused on Flint Kids Thriving
THRIVEcast, presented by the Flint Center for Educational Excellence, explores the people, programs, and research shaping a community where every Flint child can thrive. Each episode highlights the center’s work with schools, families, and community partners to build an educational ecosystem that supports Flint kids’ success and wellbeing.
THRIVEcast - Focused on Flint Kids Thriving
Second Chances: Education After Juvenile Justice
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Chronic absenteeism is often seen as a student problem - but what if it’s really a systems problem? In this episode of THRIVEcast, we unpack the complex realities facing students involved in the juvenile justice system. From undiagnosed learning challenges to trauma, family responsibilities, and the search for belonging, many young people are navigating far more than school. This conversation explores why students disengage, what true support looks like, and how mentorship, empathy, and second chances can help them reclaim their path forward.
The gap in between a kid coming out of juvenile detention and getting back in education has always been a thing. We have parents calling all the time. Well, this school says uh they can come, but they're gonna come two days a week. This school says they can't come at all. Well, this school still has the record from it's all these barriers, all these things that plays a major part in absenteeism.
SPEAKER_00Welcome to Thrivecast, a production of the Flint Center for Educational Excellence. My name is Don Hibbert, and I will be your host. Our topic today is chronic school absenteeism as it relates to students who have been involved in the juvenile justice system. I have with me Tadarius Lowe, youth mentor specialist for Peckham Inc., a nonprofit vocational rehabilitation organization that provides paid job training opportunities for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment. Thank you for joining me today.
SPEAKER_01Thank you for having me, Don.
SPEAKER_00I wanted to continue a previous conversation we had about absenteeism and focus on the academic barriers that young people face who have been in the juvenile justice system. Youth in the juvenile justice system face several academic barriers, including learning gaps, high rates of undiagnosed disabilities, and many of these youth have previously been suspended or expelled, and others have struggled with getting their academic credits transferred from one school to another or re-enrollment in a new or previous school. Mr. Lowe, in your work with students who have been adjudicated, what have you seen are the primary roadblocks for young people trying to complete their education?
SPEAKER_01Well, that's a that's a very good question. Um I would say it had to be self-identity, not really knowing um who they are, uh, what they want out of life. Um and high expectations from those in the professional field of education. Um we have the students, you know, we get them in a classroom or we we have them to show up in a space and we give them these um unclear expectations. You sit down, you do the work, and you do these things, but I haven't had the foundation of just being able to follow simple directions. That's how I got to the juvenile justice system. Um and it it becomes a challenge because the dots in the room, uh, one, they may not understand it of where they're coming from. Um, and two, um, our kids are in survival mode.
SPEAKER_00That's the pity of it. It it almost sounds as if you're speaking directly to that undo undiagnosed disability, maybe a reading delay or um difficulty with math or something. So they're not, they don't have the foundational skills, so they don't understand what they're being asked to do, or they can't keep up and they just shut down at a certain point.
SPEAKER_01Especially after um having the experience of being uh brought into the justice system. Um your freedom is taken away, you're you're following these rules, and you're looked at as less than, and no one even uh dealt with those young behaviors. When you were young and you did have the reading and you had the the speech problem, all these things to where you're acting out and it's criminal behavior. Um and not and not not getting it sooner than later. Because now when you get them on a one-on-one basis or a small group to say, hey, these are the group of kids who's coming through the justice system, let's put them in your mentoring program. And you get them and you say, Hey, um, could you read this for me? Or hey, can you tell me what this is? And they don't know, or they're shy, or they they they seem angry, but it's not anger, it's me hiding what I I don't know. And you're like, oh, this is an angry kid. No, this is a kid that didn't get the the care, the nurture, or support of whatever this disability may be. Um, and that just leads up into absenteism.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01Because you don't want to go to school until yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00You don't want to go somewhere where you feel disenfranchised.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. To where we're thinking, oh, they're kids and they're caught up in the gangs and they don't want to do this. And it's like, no, there's a deeper issue. Um, they're not comfortable with speaking. They're not comfortable or confident in doing the work that you're providing or telling you that they struggle. Because on the juvenile justice side of things, you're tough. You have to show that you can do. You got to prove yourself where there's no safe space to land for.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Now you've you've been a mentor for a while, and we've had a few conversations about some of the of your mentees. Um, I it just struck me that we're talking about students who felt disenfranchised in school. But I'm wondering, are there kids that you have run across that maybe are just they aren't so much disenfranchised. They're, they are maybe angry. And maybe life has thrown them a lot of curved balls. And they, you know, school is the least of their worries.
SPEAKER_01So we talk about survival mode. Um, having these young children from uh, I'll say the youngest I've ever had was a 13-year-old. Um, what time are we done? What will what do you have to do? I have to get my little brother off the bus and my my mom's gonna drop my sister off, and when they get home, I have to provide dinner. And then my cousin's gonna come over and I have to help with uh clean up the house and I have to make sure everybody gets sleeping. It's like, whoa, you don't get to go home and be a kid? You're doing adult things. You you're you have to put these things in your schedule that like you should be able to just be youthful. And you you use survival mode to almost as a parent, I get up and I have to plan my day, make sure my kids get to school, make sure they eat and they do it. You have young children doing it on a daily, they're feeding themselves, they're getting up and they're locking the doors and they're making sure little brother and sister are getting off to and from school, and then you're asking them to go be successful. And so it's a lot at that young age.
SPEAKER_00Um Are those children more susceptible to the streets and the influences that you've been talking about? I've some that has that need to belong somewhere else.
SPEAKER_01Because the nurturing care at home isn't there. And so when I do come across someone who's showing me love and showing me that I belong to something, right, wrong, or indifferent, um, they do end up in these gangs. They do end up in these street communities where they feel a sense of belonging. And they go down this path that the reality of them, they don't want to. But this is a place where these folks are telling me, I got your back, I'm here for you. Call me if you need me, but it's all bad. It's all these are things that's gonna lead you incarcerated or or in the grave. And it because it becomes a bigger picture. You say, Well, this kid is bad. No, the kid is not bad. This kid has abandonment issues. And so when I come across someone that say, I love you, bro, or love you, sis, or we can go get this money. Who doesn't want money? I want some money, you know? Yeah. And it's not if it's quick and easy money, I I want to do this thing. And so it's school on my mind.
SPEAKER_00Would some of that motivation to get the money also be to help maybe help the family that they're already responsible for?
SPEAKER_01So glad you brought this up. I have so many young um uh children that come through and say, I gotta get this money to take care of my family. And you're you're 14, you're that I gotta get this so I can help my mama get a new car. I gotta help, and you like, oh, I I get it. That is not your responsibility, but I get it. And then you have parents who support it. So, you know, it's like a tough, it's a toughie, right? And it's like, who, how can I give this kid back their voice and their vision to say, you don't have to grow up so fast. You can take your time and not letting their identity be attached to them catching whatever charge they caught in the juvenile justice system. But that's a that's an issue too, because there's one of me, and I can't root for everybody in every space. And so when they come across these adults that are in the juvenile justice system who um, and in my own opinion, are trained to keep them, treat them in a justice way. You're you're bad. Punitive. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. This is punishment, this is thing. And I'm like, I don't care what they charge you with. You are valued, you are somebody. We can overcome that. And then trying to throw the educational piece on there, some of them are so far gone, they don't they don't see that happening because I've been treated as if I don't matter. But I see you trying to give me this hope. Um, and it it just becomes it's it's rough, it's hard, but it's doable.
SPEAKER_00I can imagine why it would be difficult to believe in something that you've never seen before.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah. That that is, yeah, yeah, yeah. And and I'm not, we don't do the parent blame. We don't need to do the parent blame because some parents just don't know. They cannot give you a few. Or they're doing the best they can. And their best to them is their best to everybody's life is different. And we don't, you gotta go get the parents, you gotta. Do I want to provide resources for these parents? Absolutely. But can I take a parent that has four or five children, one income, and say, hey, I got this resource for her, they're burnt out too. Mm-hmm. Right. They're burnt out too. And you talk about absenteeism. It all plays the parents burnt out. Then you got the young child that's burnt out, but also wants to be belong to something. So after I get done feeding little sister, little brother, I want some freedom too. So if I get y'all safe in the house, I'm gonna go to the streets with my friends. I got friends now. And here come the stolen cars, the guns, and all these things. And the truth of it is, I want somebody to love me, to see me. Right. You know, to show me a different way. But I it it it the numbers are high with these, with the students that are involved.
SPEAKER_00I can only imagine, too, that if you've been given this much responsibility at home, that you feel more grown. And when you get out onto the street and you get into these very adult situations, you feel like you can handle it because you are already responsible for so many things.
SPEAKER_01I'm a young man, my dad's not around, and you're telling me I'm the man of the house.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01I'm the old. So what do men do? Men go out, provide, and they protect, and they make way, and it's like, but none of that says go get your education.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. None of that says get your education.
SPEAKER_00So getting back to that education, so in in your role as a as a mentor through Peckham, I mean, obviously you've you've had some success stories. What has worked for some some young people?
SPEAKER_01So um under our with my program is Mentor Flynn. Um, there's a team of us, uh, we're like 14 and growing now. We literally become a safe space for um our youth. Um, and it started with those that are just as involved. And so um my goal was to pair uh the youth that are just involved, their own um probation or whatnot. Um, we will pair them up with a mentor that would uh spend at least an hour a week with them. And what this mentor is doing on besides um creating a safe space, you're not mom, you're not dad, you're not P.O. You're not none of this. You're rooting for this kid and you're doing everything in your power without getting burnt out yourself to say there's a better way, and I'm here for you. And I'm going to do my best to prune you to make you into the better virgin than you were yesterday. I know you won't change overnight. I know, um, and one of the sayings that I have on one of my shirts is planet seeds grow in different seasons. We want the kids to get it together right now, and it won't, it's not. As long as I'm taking a seed, if you got a seed in the ground, sometimes you got to repot it. Sometimes you got to do some things because they will continue to make mistakes. And I can't change your at-home environment. I can only change when I have you in front of me and what I can say. And so we, in that safe space, they built the relationship to where a youth can call and say, hey, this is going on at home and I feel like this. Okay, let me walk you through that. Let me, let me, let me walk you through it. Not that I'm coming to save you. I'm not showing up every time to save you to do these things because we get caught up in the family dynamic and all this stuff, but let me walk you through it. And our success stories have been that we've been able to walk students through adult situations where they want to, uh where they've they've got to this point to where they want to disrespect mom and they want to walk out and they want to do all these things. It's like, hey, take a breather. Let's try it a different way. And so we get the kids that um we have the relationship equity will, and they reach out to us and they say, Hey, I remember the last time we talked, you said do A, B, C. I'm not doing C. B sounds okay, but tell me about A again. Let's try that. They try it and they do it and say, okay, cool. And we're able to not only cheer for them, but reward them. I'm able to take them out. I'm able to call them, I'm able to go see and say, I appreciate you doing that. Because truth is you didn't know. And two, you didn't have to do. I'm a volunteer. I'm just here for you. Um, but also wanting to change the mindset of parents.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01I can tell this kid that they're amazing all day. But if they come back in a house and you tell them they have to throw it on the street or what they, or remind them of their past, we're going back to step one. And so um, a part of that success story, we've had some parents that's had a mind shift to say, you know what, I don't know what to do with this young man. I don't know what to do with this young lady. Can you help me? And allowed us to come in and um give wisdom and out to we're not always right because you know your child more than we do.
SPEAKER_00Right. But it's like you talk about planting the seed, but you're also planting it with the parent.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Absolutely. It goes both ways because you want to make one beautiful family, is what you want, what you want to. Um and and we always, we are always gonna push education. And with education, um, you got career and college readiness, but we say awareness. I want you aware. Because a lot of our kids, they see things on TV, real estate, they see flipping houses, they see all these things. And college may not be for them. And that's okay. It's it's fine. We got a lot, you know, gotta go to college. It's like, no, we're gonna talk about trades, we can talk about all these things. We're never pushing them away from that. And even so, if we can help them, that barrier of transportation, barrier of clothing, if we can help in any way, um, we do.
SPEAKER_00Well, and most of your students are high school age. They are nice. So getting the the high school diploma or a GED is the first order of business, really.
SPEAKER_01The one thing that now that is loud. At least get your high school diploma. At least get that one step out of the way. And um currently I'm at Beecher High Learning Academy, where we have about 20, 20 to 25 students, and um we're able to walk alongside them. And it's in our tournament school, and we're able to walk alongside them with their different life struggles. But for the one thing that we're able to support them is get them across the stage. Hey, let me get you across the stage. And even when you have those moments where you feel like life is a little tough and you feel like you're doing those adult things, let us help you with them. Um, and that that um I'm gonna switch of subject. Uh, I think we talk about mental health. That's one of our barriers. We I'm not trained for mental, but I know it when I see it. Um, we have a lot of children, a lot of our youth that they have some mental issues, and you can tell.
SPEAKER_00Well, some of them have had some pretty serious trauma.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Yes, yes, and and when they share it, you almost don't know what to do with it. You don't know what to do with it, and it's like, and get the kid has to go home. The kid has to go home. You have to send them to the send them back into that environment. And it's like, what can I do? What can I say? How can I help? And when it comes to the mental thing, because I work with students with IEPs and 504s and all the, you know, um, it's like, where is the the full support for them? Because I some of my students are in cle in classrooms with substitutes. Yes. So there's that coalition. You know, so if and and then they bump heads with the sub who don't know them, who hasn't built a relationship. And guess what? I'm not coming to school. As long as you're sub and I'm not coming to school. Um, and as long as nobody hears me, uh, I'm I don't want to be in this space. And so just trying to encourage a kid to get into school, encourage a kid to see beyond whatever the court says. I don't, I, I don't, I never, my kid, my intakes. I don't care what you did yesterday, I don't care what's on this paper that they sent to me. How are we moving forward? How are we gonna get you to school? How are we gonna get you that first job? How are we gonna get you to being able to present yourself better than what they're they're saying? So um the the mental part of it can be challenging because um I do have resources. Those resources you have to waste sometimes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You have to waste sometimes. But the thing of um using our resources, we're walking it through. We're walking it through. I had a kid um had shared that they were having um flashbacks of their trauma.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01And they were having suicidal thoughts. And I was able to reach out to our local um mental health uh organization around here, and uh they said, well, it'll be about two months.
SPEAKER_00Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01Two months for a kid, I'm telling you. And um, and and and and it I was upset, I was angry. I'm like, what? Because I want to help this kid as much as I can. Um, but still can, you know, you don't stop there. I don't stop. So continue to reach out. Um, I did find um a person uh from an organization here in Flint was able to come over and present to the whole class and then take this kid as a one-on-one case um to talk about suicide prevention and getting this kid um uh getting the parent involved to seeing what resources we can have as far as from the mental standpoint. And now that that was two months ago. This kid is thriving in in such a way, what just showing up so beautiful and it's like a release of like, thank you, you know, because sometimes as adult, we think it's just all about put that up, put this out, do that, do it. No, no, no, no. I gotta walk with you different than I walk with the other kid.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01I gotta get you a resource, you know, different than that. And kids, they know your heart. They know your heart. And and I think if we get more true hearts in the classroom, that can change the numbers of absenteeums.
SPEAKER_00Yes, it's it's that's that's a whole nother conversation.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00Yes, it's definitely another conversation. Um you know, you've you in our original uh panel discussion about absenteeism, you brought LaDarius with you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm assum your favorite. Yeah, right. Um, but he seems to be thriving.
SPEAKER_01So LaDarius is my first, um, my first mentee. Um when I came on the pick him a year and a half ago, um, it was funny that his name is LaDarius, and I'm T Darius. Yes. And I never recall going in, um, I I always recall going to the classroom, and the Darius like threw a ball across the room, and I politely, I said, Hey, uh, you know, get that ball. And he said, I'm I'm not doing anything. And uh, this is me putting my I'm the new guy and uh what I've learned in life and why do I really want to work with these kids? And I said, Well, could you please pick that up for me? And he says, Oh, that was nice of you. He goes pick the ball up and get him. And we've been on a journey together for a year and a half. And the Darius story is very unique because he's a kid that can turn a stop sign green. And so when he would do things, he will call me and tell me. The Darius will call me and say, Hey, Mr. T, because you always want to be in a no, I'm letting you know I've done A, B, C, D. And I'll be back at June out detention on Monday. I'm saying that. And I'll never forget I was in a car with my wife, and she said, Why is he so calm? I said, Because I'm calm on him. Normally, why did you do that? Use your number. The relationship equity and the respect is that he called me to let me know. And his case is different because Ladarius ended up going to rehab. We were Louis ended up taking him to rehab. His rehab is like six hours away. We drove him three hours away. This is a kid that continues to lean into you as long as you lean into him. Well aware that he cannot change his environment. Well aware that the people that truly love him is gonna continue to, you know, love on him. And I believe me keeping my word and not being another felon in his life, showing up when he did get locked up. He got locked up twice within that time. Every time I was back there in that detention center in the CM. And it wasn't, why did you do what you do? What's next? What do you what's like what's next? And so um Ladarius is he's working. Um he's attending um a local school here. Um, and hopefully he'd be graduating uh real soon. Um it'd be probably this year or next year, but he allowed um me to want to be a safe space for him, but he knew his own potential. I just had to pour some more into it. And it's not to say that LaDarius won't do something tomorrow, but from a mentor standpoint for me, I'll still show up.
SPEAKER_00Well, when he was with us and talking, he talked about being on the football team. Yes. And getting involved in something that matters to you. Yes. And he also said something about when you're so close to the goal, and he was speaking of high school graduation, he said, Why would I quit now? I'm almost there. And I thought that was very good forward thinking for a young person because a lot of times they live so much in the moment. Yes, they can't project themselves into the future.
SPEAKER_01I don't know. I don't see it. I don't hear it.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01And if I can't imagine it. You know, and even in those mess-ups, if I'm going in as the adult and convicting you every time of you doing something bad instead of pushing you forward, you won't get to the language of say, why would I, why would I stop now? Because he's done some things that make you say, like, seriously? We just had this conversation, you know? But he can he can to see him continue to get up and go at it again, continue to go. You gotta continue to root for that child. Even if we're talking about getting to school. Right. If I get you there on Monday, I'm cheering for you on Monday. You miss Tuesday, okay, we're going back Wednesday. Yeah. It's not like here we go again. No, we're not going backpedal. We're gonna move forward. And being okay with adjusting the way that you do things, every child is different. Every single one is different. Adjusting the way that you do things and meeting them literally where they are. Because you talk about the trauma. It comes up. It comes up. And they have their moments, just like as adults, we have our moments. Meeting a kid where they are, whether on probation or the valedictory in the school, meet a kid where they are. And it makes all the difference. It literally makes all the difference.
SPEAKER_00It's a heavy lift you do.
SPEAKER_01It it is, but it's rewarding. And the reward is not the paycheck, not um the amazing company, not the amazing co-workers. It's the kids that allow you to come in their space. That's the award. When you get a kid that says, okay, I'm rocking with you, you cool. Come on. And they see you and they speak to you and they they're glad to see you. Or you don't show up and they call you. You're like, okay, well, maybe, you know, you you got kids that give you pushback, but the reward is them allowing you in their space. I I do recall just when we were growing up, you said, you respect the dots, and you, you see, dogs, you you respect them. You literally have to earn the right to be in this kid's space. It's different. It's it's a different time. And it does um, it gets it gets challenging. Um, and it it gets heavy, and you, and when your heart is in it, you get hurt.
SPEAKER_00No way.
SPEAKER_01You you get hurt. Um, but it but it's worth it. It's worth every minute of it. And it's there's not a there's not a kid that I wouldn't mentor, there's not a kid that I wouldn't show love to, but um, I I do my best to find balance and making sure their voice is louder than mine, because a kid voice can can can reach more students than you because they're they're they're own leaders in their own community.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. Oh, here and they they listen to each other at a certain age. At that age, it's their it the peer group becomes more important than the family.
SPEAKER_01They do, and that's how um we're talking about the voices and and peers. Um, we talk about gang violence and all this, these uh little little clicks and stuff that has gotten violent, that has gotten it's gotten bad. And I always say these are just little people that need a hug. These are little people, oh, the mask in the hood, they need a hug. Will you be the one to hug them today? Will you be the one to walk up there and ask them how they're doing? And it's like, no, because I'm I'm scared of them. Ah, that's that's what the truth of it is, they're scared of you. They're scared of you, and they didn't they're they're scared as a different type of scare because they're carrying a gun and they're putting on a mask and they're putting on a hood. And these are just that they're they're innocent. They are innocent. Yeah, they committed these crimes, but if we go back to where they came from, how they they weren't born criminals.
SPEAKER_00No.
SPEAKER_01They didn't come in the world knowing how to steal a car. They didn't, you know, and I just um always encouraged, like, these are humans. These are humans, these are babies, these are human. Yeah, you know.
SPEAKER_00Um my mom taught kindergarten for 35 years. I have this interesting perspective. Sometimes when I see someone, maybe a person who's experiencing uh homelessness or someone on the street who's obviously in distress of some kind. I always think in my head, I wonder what they looked like in my mother's kindergarten class. Because I remember just those happy, bright little faces. And she taught in Flint forever. So, you know, she was up at at Cook School.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00At uh Cody and at at uh Doyle Ryder. So I mean, you know, you you see these happy little smiling faces at the age of five and born sponges.
SPEAKER_01They were born sponges, and whatever you allow to soak in their mind, their brain, and all these things, it'll show. It'll come out. And if you as the sponge holder don't find a different way to rinse it out or to polish it or to do what it's like or a better thing to pour in. Something. If you don't find something different, um, you will will come up with these youth that that are struggling in such ways to where um we put a label on them and we lose them to the streets and they have no voice and the numbers of the detention center go up. And now we're talking about it's crowded. How well how it's crowded? It's not here. I don't deal with adults in the jail, but when we're talking about youth, is there someone that can go walk alongside this kid and rehabilitate them? Yes. You know? And so uh yeah, they they are um the precious, and that's what my passion is when it comes to it. And always, but still just always pushing that first line that we just get you across the stage.
SPEAKER_00Well, we were talking earlier about a young person that you've been working with who is he's it's not working out to go to one of the alternative high schools. And so, you know, that's one of the big issues is finding a place to get them back into school. I I can only imagine that if you are part of the juvenile justice system, they're not going to release you on a very convenient day when the new semester starts. So you're gonna come out on a day when maybe you're weeks or months behind everyone else in your grade. And and how how big of an issue is that? I mean, are there alternative schools that can help these young people?
SPEAKER_01Or so we um this is what I love about Peck'em, um being a second chance, a youth resource. Um at one time we had a place to where they would come to us and we had partnered with the local school here to do credit recovery. Um they would they would come in and they would do the educational piece in the morning, and then the second part of it, they would do um Peck'em. Um and we'll do um job resumes, OSHA certification, uh, surf safe, we'll do community give backs, we'll do talent tours, and then you have mentor flint where your mentor will come in, we'll spend time with you. Um the challenge was when they left us, you were only with us. Um at the end, you'll get a six to eight-week work experience. The challenge when they left us was getting them back into normal schools because you had the barrier, you had the record. And a lot of schools didn't accept that. But then when you go to um alternative schools, there's rules, regulations, and time, so on and so forth. And the it will be either the alternative school is full already, or they don't start until the following year. And so you got a kid out here for these three, four, five months, they were with Peckham and they had some structure. You get a kid that's in that waiting period and they're waiting and they're waiting. The, the, the, the, the mind is the devil's playground. Right. What can I do while I'm waiting? They're back into the norm because they don't have us every day. They're back into um feeling like they don't have nothing to do with the boredom. And so in this particular kid, the boredom is I'm going to order a 30-round drum. Why what are we what are we doing? What why why is that the thing? Because I don't have consistency.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01And so there are some schools that can um and that that will take them. And then there's some that you just have to be online. How can I do online when I barely have a place to stay?
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01When I barely have a place to stay, where homeless is possibly an option. Where I'm living in a house of family and there's 10 of us. You think I'm gonna sit at a laptop and do some work. And so that's where we're able to provide a space at times to where they can come over and do work. But the the gap in between a kid coming out of juvenile detention and getting back in education has always been a thing. We have parents calling all the time. Well, this school says uh they can come, but they don't come two days a week. This school says they can't come at all. Well, this school still has the record from it's all these barriers, all these things that plays a major part in absenteeism. Um because I do do schools believe in second chances? I I'm guessing not, because you you once you've done that, it's on your record, you know? Right. Um, and every case is different. I'm not, you know, some kids, it goes beyond just behavior. It's mental, it's trauma, it's you you need some one-on-one. You need to be at home on a laptop if you can. But there's some that if you really did a deep dive and you really talked to this child, you rethink that disciplinary action. How can you still let them thrive with making this bad decision? And um, that's not always an option for a lot. That's you know, not an option. And um, and that's another thing we love about Peckham having that second chance to have my voice be heard again and you show me something different than RareBear running off of my record.
SPEAKER_00Right. Yeah. It's a complicated issue.
SPEAKER_01It is. It's very complicated, but it's doable with enough, um, with enough like-minded people um that could come to the table and create a space, create um rules and regulations that do give those that deserve it a second chance. Um and and I get uh we gotta face consequences, but when you're talking about the juvenile detention center, um, that is a consequence. Um but the what's being taught in the juvenile detention center, I've always had this is my own personal opinion about um even taking a kid and putting them in a detention center. You can teach life skills. You can make them feel as if, hey, this, you show this detention? I feel like these people are empowering me. But we all know that ain't the rules of how that goes. Um, but just think of if we did. What if we took these youth and I and gave them mental health resources inside of here um and and gave them life skills and taught them about um hope and how they can overcome and that your story it's is not over.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, there's so many programs in prisons now for training leader dogs, growing, you know, cooking, growing vegetables, the art.
SPEAKER_01So that was the mindset of Peckham, is that they get out of there, they come up front to us, we let them the freedom of thrive, right? Um, and I I will, you know, what if we did that? And because there's programs in the jail, they they learn about financial literacy. Yeah. I know that because my pastor teaches it. So um why can we, you know, do the same thing for our young babies? Yeah. And and uh if we do, you know, it's because you can't just start at the dog, you gotta go back. And that's why um I I that's another uh thing that just I believe is an amazing idea. You got them. You okay, you got the Kitanawa. Okay, we lock them in a cell and they they mine is going elsewhere. And and you then you send them.
SPEAKER_00And they're beating a lot of other people who are may or may not be great influences.
SPEAKER_01Same old, same old, right? And then you send them back out and wonder why they're coming right back in. Nothing changes. You just lock me up. You put me on punishment for a month, two months, however long. But what did you teach me while I was in there? What did you, what did I get from that? Did you did you water me or did you dim my light?
SPEAKER_00No, you dimmed my light. I learned how to endure.
SPEAKER_01And that's why I'm going to the street and I'm angry, right? I'm upset and my wall is up. Um, and so just, you know, it all plays a part when it comes to trying to um give our kids education, give them the support um needed in all areas, and letting them recover from their mistakes. Um because once you do catch a charge, you feel like that's my label. You gave me a label. Yeah. I'm a thief. I'm a scammer. What do I look like sitting in a classroom then? Yeah. Well, my c you know, what would what I don't I don't belong there. And so now I'm going back to what I know. And so um being able to provide a space for them and so that these these absentee numbers could change. Um, from the you know, juvenile detention center, juvenile justice system side of things, um it's unique, but um every kid has um they deserve to thrive. Every kid. Uh, you know, every every kid, and it don't matter the story, the charge, uh, the trauma, or um the diagnosis, they still deserve to thrive.
SPEAKER_00How do um young people get connected with Peckham?
SPEAKER_01Um, so with Peckham, um, with Mentor Flint, uh, we are located on Ballinger Highway, um, 1309 North Ballinger Highway. Um, or they can go to our website, Peckham. Um they have a way of doing inquiries. Um I'm in the community a lot. We uh my mentor, our mentor flint program is growing. Uh the plan is to start um going into middle school. Uh when I first came on, it was high school age kids. Um just taking a step back and seeing how we can um support them before they get to kind of making these decisions. Um and so it's things are growing. Um, but to you can contact us through our website, um, or you can even reach out to me. Uh I'm on Facebook, today is low. So um you will find me. Um but we are always in a community, we're always looking to partner to build relationships, to be a support for our youth, um, even our young adults. We have programs for 18 to 24 year olds as well. Um, that's been in the juvenile justice system. We are literally a second chance, no barrier organization.
SPEAKER_00Well, you talked about planting seeds. So, and and you've also said that you've only been with Peckham a year and a half. So it will be interesting in the next five or six years to see where some of your seeds bloom.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Absolutely. And I I always crack the joke on myself, maybe one day when I'm on my yacht, uh, 30 years from now, I'll look up and I'll see Lodarius or I'll see, you know, any of my other students and I'll say, I'll be okay with knowing that my planted seed has grown. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Definitely, most definitely.
SPEAKER_00Well, I want to thank Tadarius Lowe for being part of this incredibly important conversation about school absenteeism and the impacts of the juvenile justice system on student success. You have been listening to Thrivecast, the podcast program of the Flint Center for Educational Excellence.