San Quentin Rehabilitation Center saw the first official gathering of its Youth Offender Program with the groups mentees and resident Peer Mentors on July 15.
After more than a year of preparation, Peer Mentors and group sponsor Nicole Wilbur organized the training program at the education annex on the Lower Yard.
On day one 19 mentees, 10 Peer Mentors, and interns showed up promptly at 3 pm to a small, stuffy classroom for orientation activities. The desks were pushed aside and chairs assembled into a horseshoe shape in front of the white board. Check-ins went smooth and fast.
The Monday meetings cohort adopted the moniker Lions to highlight their healthy sense of pride, fearlessness and heart associated with the big cat. Three key attributes that would be tested through CLUB (Changing Lives (through) Understanding Beliefs), in the coming weeks and months.
“I needed to get pushed a couple times by my peers to acknowledge that YOP CLUB at San Quentin is where I really wanna be today,” said 20 year-old Roberto Rivera. “Without that push I never would’ve realized that [San Quentin] set me up for success.”
A survey was taken in the classroom. Lions were asked how many of them were serving a life sentence in prison. Sixteen hands rose. Lions were instructed to raise their hand if it was their first self-help session. Fifteen hands rose.
“It was heartbreaking,” said Wilbur, the group sponsor. “How young men could have their life taken away from them at such a tender age.”
The YOP Mentorship aims to provide guidance, support and opportunities for the youth. Peer Mentors utilize CDCR YOP CLUB 52-session curriculum as its primary tool for classroom instruction. CLUB, Seeking Safety and Pushing Forward: A New Beginning are all YOP curriculum developed by incarcerated people originating at Valley State Prison, Chowchilla.
At the “Q” Peer Mentors set up a grading system of completed exercises, midterm test, finals and video instruction from multiple disciplines to gauge mentees’ progress. In addition, mentees are afforded access to pre-approved elective courses covering personal finance, life skills, relapse prevention and CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy) – to name a few, as part of their YOP education plans.
The YOP was established in 2014, pursuant to Assembly Bill 1276, which enacted California Penal Code section 2905, requiring CDCR to afford special classification consideration for every incarcerated youth. While PC section 2905 states that a youth offender is 22 years of age, the department extends the opportunity for participation in the YOP to individuals under age 26.
The expanded age range affords these young individuals the opportunity to be housed at a lower security level for greater access to programs with the goal of increasing the likelihood of rehabilitation during these critical development stages in their life, according to CDCR Undersecretary of Operations Tammy Foss.
Every person who committed their current offense before age 26 is considered a “youth offender.” However, all youth offenders are not admitted into the Youth Offender Program for youth, mostly it applies to those between the ages of 18 and 25 years-old.
The Youth Offender Rehabilitation Community is on the move to bring youth together to encourage positive programming and afford these individuals impactful rehabilitative and educational resources targeted to their specific needs at the “Q”.
The YOP sponsor Wilbur said the CLUB curriculum launch was an overall success. She concluded that she’s “all in with you guys.” There remains a long journey ahead to graduate the first 50 mentees enrolled for the CLUB curriculum.
The one takeaway from all this was the deep sense of commitment from mentors and promise in the eyes of mentees in that YOP classroom. Therefore, YOP mentors and mentees march together straight ahead to the next milestone.
YOP CLUB is Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3-5 pm at Education B-building.
