Bullshitting at Its Finest..

At a young age, Jovany Martinez had resigned himself to a life of crime and penal institutions.
"I first went into juvenile hall when I was 14," the 18-year-old said. "I just started getting used to it. I thought I was waiting to go to county or state prison."

But during his sixth and latest incarceration in the San Bernardino County juvenile detention system, something changed.

Martinez was chosen to take part in a program that strives to help at-risk and repeat juvenile offenders: The Gateway Program.

Started in March 2008 as a way to deal with California's Juvenile Realignment, which placed 707a, or less violent, offenders under local supervision and housing, leaving 707b offenders under state control.

The program gives incarcerated youths the opportunity to earn their way from a locked-down situation to a less restrictive housing model with such programs as job placement, job training and mental health support, said Chris Condon, spokesman for the San Bernardino County Probation Department.

"The program is broken down into phases," said Brenda Perez, director of the Gateway Program. "Phase 1 actually starts in the locked side."

Beginning the program while the youth is in the locked-down setting of juvenile hall allows the participant a slower and smoother transition into the Gateway housing unit.

"One of the things I noticed is on this side, the workers really care about you and talk to you," Martinez

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said. "On the locked side the guards are more like baby-sitters. You go in, you do your time and you get out. That's it."
Program participants are taught many things they never learned on their own, from how to fill out a resume and how to engage during a job interview to the basics of how to speak when spoken to. They are taught life skills they may not have learned otherwise.

Many times repeat juvenile offenders do not have the family structure that allows them to be successful, Condon noted. Sometimes they may be growing up in a gang-infested neighborhood, in a home with limited or non-existent parental supervision or the parents and adults are incarcerated or gang members themselves.

"We try to show them there are other ways of living," said Perez.

The community and program-based approach to dealing with these youthful offenders have garnered the attention of organizations and have won the local program accolades and awards.

On July 15, Gateway earned a national achievement award from the National Association of Counties.

In a recent report, The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice said juveniles and the state would be better served if all youthful offenders were placed with local agencies - specifically citing the San Bernardino County Probation Department's success with 707a offenders.

Through the Gateway Program, the Probation Department is able serve juveniles at a cost of $152,000 per individual per year compared to $179,000 spent by the state, the CJCJ report says. The recidivism rate for juveniles in the program is also much lower compared to the state's re-offense rate. Recidivism is at 36.5percent for the Probation Department in contrast to 80percent for the state juvenile justice system.

While Erik Torregano, 18, of Grand Terrace doesn't have a record as extensive as Martinez's, he admits he has anger issues that have led to conflicts with family and friends. Torregano took advantage of the anger management program and began participating in the Highland Boxing Club.

"It's great," Torregano said. "It helps me be more disciplined and helps me work things out."

Before the Gateway program, neither Torregano nor Martinez knew what the future held, but they now say they're looking forward to getting a job and making their own money.

"I want to get into warehouse work, but what I really want to get into is broadcasting," Torregano said as a big grin appeared on his face. "People say I have a nice voice so I think I would be good at it."

Martinez hopes to land a job with McDonald's and sees himself working his way up through the fast-food chain until one day becoming a manager or even the owner of his own restaurant.

"It feels good to get that paycheck," Martinez said. "You know that you worked hard for that money and you didn't do it the wrong way. That's a good feeling."

I Was In This Program and its Funny How They had The Kid Bull shit for The Program Cuz He Was My Old Roommate Lol...