Probation Youth Learn Life Skills While Helping the Community

Young people from the Probation Department's Youth Transition Campus (YTC) are supporting community members in need by taking part in a food packaging initiative with a local church.

The YTC is an open setting campus that replaced Juvenile Hall and leverages a rehabilitative program for youth that includes educational services, career and technical courses, and treatment-based programming to help youth transform their lives.

YTC youth in the service project help and package food provided by the church into bags that will be given to people in need. Other partners in the effort include Feeding America, Walmart, Smart and Final, and Aldi.

The project provides a lifeline to local families while that also teaching important skills to the students.

"This hands-on involvement not only provides essential aid to the community but also fosters a sense of purpose and responsibility among participants. It's a reminder that everyone has the capacity to contribute positively," Senior Probation Officer Melissa Prudencio said.

She oversees the program, along with Senior Probation Officers Fernando Gonzalez and Pamela Guzman. The youth help every week and have expressed that it is a meaningful experience.

One of the teens told her, "This is the first time I've done something like this. It feels good to help others, and I would like to continue doing this

Prudencio said that for many, it marks a beginning - of service, of responsibility and of hope.

County Probation officers share a mission to protect public safety by supporting their clients to restore their lives, families and communities.