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Issue Highlight: A story from Youth Direct Ministries by Don Smarto Recently I was walking the halls of a large school. The youth mostly looked at the floor. Their faces were marked with sadness and discouragement. No one smiled. And there was good reason for such a mood. I was walking through a maximum security juvenile prison called a “state school”. In solitary confinement, a small bare cell with a stone slab, a thin mattress, and a prison toilet, I listened to 16 year old Stephen. “I’ve been in this place for eight months”, he said. “My mom has not visited me once”. Stephen has no father in his life. His mother is poor and cannot afford to make the 250 mile trip to see him. He is lonely and feels abandoned. He gets in fights because he is angry. As I entered a large cellblock with 30 youth, one short, blond haired boy smiled. It was an unusual sight. Then I realized he was looking at me, not the people I was walking with. I asked the chaplain if I could talk with him. “Yes”, he said, so I approach 15 year old Derrick. The boy knew my name. He took a bookmark out of his bible. It was the trading card I give out when I speak in facilities like these. “I never got you to sign it”, said Derrick. As I signed the card to him, his face beamed. “I remember what you told us” he said, “and I’m really trying hard to follow God’s way”. He had seen a Youth Direct program in another facility, eight months before. I encouraged the boy to depend on God. “When do you get out?” I asked him, expecting to hear a month. “2007” he replied. I was shocked by such a long sentence for someone so young. “Do you get visits?” I asked Derrick. “Yes, one”, he responded, “You came to see me today”. I was filled with emotion. The chaplain told me his family abandoned him. I had to leave after ten minutes. As I walked away I saw him sharing the card with other youth. Matthew 25 tells us to visit prisoners. Imagine how my small gestures and time impacted that boy. For him it was a visit. He had kept the card for eight months and now it was signed, and his day was filled with joy. I told Derrick Youth Direct was coming to the facility in three months. With a broad smile he said “I’ll be here! I can’t wait to you guys come.” And more, he told me he reads his bible daily because of our contact with him in the other facility. As I left the facility, I asked the chaplain “How many youth are lock up here?” He replied “There 380 boys”, and he added many have sentences of years. “We have a ten year old boy locked here”, he said. “How many of the boys get visits from family members?”, I asked him. He looked at me with a troubled expression. “Last Saturday only two boys got a visit”, he said. And Saturday is the greatest visitation day. Think about it, 380 boys, all hoping for a visit from someone who cares about them, and only 2 got visits. And we wonder why these boys are angry or discouraged. That is why a ministry like “Youth Direct” is so important. They need encouragement. They need to know someone cares. They need God in their lives. There are thousands of Derricks waiting for a kind word and a message of hope. And that is why we do what we do. Don Smarto To find out more about Youth Direct or to donate, For More Informatio: Go to the Depression Page for Resources and Information
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