Saving Young People from Almost-Impossible Challenges
Schoolchildren along the Texas-Mexico border face challenges that no young person should have to deal with. The area from McAllen to Brownsville in the eastern portion of South Texas is filled with financial hardship. There are gangs in the eastern part of these towns that won’t talk to gangs in the west.
And there’s crime crossing the border from Mexico—illicit drugs and human trafficking. These influences make sobriety challenging for youth who would like to maintain sobriety. Farms near the border experience constant traffic in people and drugs. In a short period in August, 2012, more than $12 million in drugs were seized.
In this environment, the Narconon South Texas staff took a stand. In a cooperative effort between the Narconon center, the local juvenile justice authorities, GEMS (Girls Educational & Mentoring Services) and A.R.M.Y. (Academy for Rehabilitation and Motivation of Youth), the Harlingen Outreach Center was opened in Spring 2011. Here’s a place where youth who were headed straight for trouble get the help they need to make new choices.
The young women join the GEMS program and young men participate in the A.R.M.Y. program that, appropriately enough, employs a highly disciplined and uniformed approach to help rehabilitate these youth. As part of the program running at this center, each person also receives lessons in life, study and drug prevention from Narconon staff.
Three afternoons a week, the students have the chance to study the following curriculum:
- The Learning Improvement Course: this teaches the youth the basics of successful study and shows them the real reasons for many study failures.
- The Ethics Book: A very simple illustrated guide to the use of ethics in one’s actions and decisions.
- Drug prevention lessons: The lessons these students study utilize the drug prevention videos produced by the Los Angeles group, The Friends of Narconon. Students learn the real damaging effects and consequences of abusing drugs like marijuana and Ecstasy.
Statements from Students
With this kind of support from the community agencies and Narconon, these students get the guidance they need to make better decisions for sober, productive futures. These children describe the realizations they have as a result of the Narconon services at the Community Outreach Center. Their responses touch the heart.
From the Learning Improvement Course: “Today I learned about the many feelings you can get when you don’t understand a word [in your study materials]. I also learned what you should do to clear that word up. Knowing this will make classes easier for an intelligent person.” R.G.
From The Ethics Book: “I learned that being honest is the way to live a life full of happiness.” A.R.
“I learned about reason, what it means and how it is used.” J.C.
