Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Coyote Ridge Inmates appreciate support Jubilee Leadership Academy provides troubled youth
Jubilee Director of Admissions Leann Griffin (l) laughs as Flavio Mora gets a playful headlock from Jubilee student, Victor. Mora is a former Jubilee student from Phoenix, Arizona, who has returned to work as part of the Jubilee staff. He loves working with kids and says he can relate to them from a place of similar experience. Building positive, nurturing, relationships between staff and students is a cornerstone of the Jubilee philosophy.
PRESCOTT – Inmates at Coyote Ridge Correctional Facility know firsthand the importance of positive adult support for at-risk teens. That understanding led them to raise and donate $3,700 to Jubilee Leadership Academy, a program that helps teens in need.
Jubilee is in its 20th year of operation and survives solely on community financial support. The academy, located on land donated by Broetje Orchards outside Prescott, provides a safe haven for up to 65 at-risk youth who could not afford its $3,500 monthly tuition if not for scholarships.
Recently, several Jubilee staff members participated in a Correctional Industries job training and mock interview day at Coyote Ridge Correctional Facility in Connell. Offender Workforce Specialist Tara Proctor said that many of the inmates had never heard of Jubilee and were overwhelmed to learn what the program offers teens.
Jubilee's mission is to "provide a Christ-centered community where youth can find new beginnings." They make that happen by training their entire staff in trauma-informed care principles. Jubilee functions on three core value concepts: safety, relathionships, and skills - in that order.
"Many of the inmates claimed that if they had services similar to those offered at Jubilee Leadership Academy, their lives may have taken a turn for the better," Proctor said.
Each quarter, Proctor works with the Correctional Industries employees and inmates to choose a nonprofit organization to fundraise for. This quarter, they had no trouble choosing Jubi lee Leadership Academy.
Fourteen inmate workers organized a pizza fundraiser and sold over $13,000 of Papa John's pizza to raise $3.700 for Jubliee.
On Dec. 28, Proctor and Dept. of Corrections employee (and former Coyote Ridge employee) Calvin Thorpe, presented Jubilee with a check for over $2,000, with an additional $1,000 to follow.
"Many of the inmates have made poor decisions over their lifetimes," said Jubilee Director of Admissions Leann Griffin. "How better to give back to the community than to help prevent other youth from making similar mistakes? The inmates that participate in the services offered by Correctional Industries want a better life for themselves once they are released.
"They also know the impact that loving, caring, and supportive adults can make in the lives of at-risk teens," she added. "The teens get that support at Jubilee."
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