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BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS FIGHT FOR YOUTH TO HAVE A SECOND CHANCE

Clubs Provide Programs in Area Residential Center

Area youth who find themselves in juvenile detention centers have a new advocate in assisting them become responsible caring adult citizens. The Boys & Girls Club of Tabula Rasa is a new program that was developed between Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Twin Oaks Juvenile Development. The program, now in its eighteenth month of operation, provides Boys & Girls Club programs to youth in all six of Twin Oaks detention facilities. The program was developed based on the Targeted Re-Entry Concept which seeks to provide successful re-entry services to youth by introducing them to Boys & Girls Club programming while in the facilities. After they are released youth are paired up with local clubs to help in providing support for them to stay out of trouble. Donnie Read, CEO of Twin Oaks said, "Tabula Rasa is the only Club in the country that is solely dedicated to serving youth in detention." Kevin Kidd, the new executive director comes to the program after eight years as the executive director for the Boys & Girls Club of North Central Florida which served Suwannee and Taylor Counties. "Tabula Rasa gives our youth hope and opportunity during the time they need it most," said Kidd. This program aims to revolutionize the re-entry process for youthful offenders, by providing youth with the support network that only an organization like Boys & Girls Clubs can provide