The young man answered a help-wanted ad long ago. It was a hot summer, similar to this one, and people were still trying to figure out how to pronounce "Saddam Hussein," a name that kept popping up on that newfangled CNN cable network. The place was southern Arkansas. The business that needed the help was SAYS.
That acronym stood for South Arkansas Youth Services. It was a place where troubled youths were held, or maybe just sent. It wasn't exactly jail, it wasn't exactly a foster home; it was something in between. And the people running the joint needed college-aged kids to mentor the even younger kids who were at SAYS-Magnolia at the request of the state.
The kids in the place involuntarily ranged from elementary to high school. Their crimes? Secret to the college-aged staff. Just know, we were told, never to find yourself in a room alone with any of them. Even if nothing happens, one of these kids could say something happened. And considering what these kids have seen in their lives, they could come up with a story that would make you blush. Keep all inside doors open. Always have witnesses.
There was a rumor that one of the boys had blood on his hands. The girls? Maybe runaways.
But nobody who worked there, as we recall, ever once felt afraid or complained of threats.
These were different kids. The really bad ones were already in juvee jail. And the really, really bad ones could be locked up with adults in the Big House. These kids, the ones behind locked windows and doors at SAYS, needed someplace that wasn't jail, but wasn't home, either. They were fed well, did homework, talked to adult counselors, and played a lot of basketball.
There was more than pride and nostalgia involved when we saw all the problems coming out of SAYS. The other day, the executive director pleaded guilty in federal court to funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to this person and that. The papers say the South Arkansas Youth Services agency is considered "now-shuttered." Somebody said the place went bankrupt earlier this year.
Campuses like SAYS are needed--like you wouldn't believe. There are many young people out there who need out of their homes, maybe through no fault of their own, but certainly don't need juvee or adult jail. These secure outfits keep the kids safe and fed while they and their families work through issues. These kinds of places keep kids off the streets, where they may be exploited or worse. They do so much good.
SAYS might be "now-shuttered," but that doesn't mean its mission is complete. The missions of these group homes all over Arkansas will never be complete. Not as long as kids and teenagers think as kids and teenagers.
Editorial on 07/23/2018