Troubled Teens Resources

Very frequently those who work in some form of teen crisis intervention come away from their experiences working with troubled teens with quite a few uplifting moments and stories.

Such is the case with one individual efforts to reach gang members. The result was a harmony of voices where once there was only discord. The most effective teen help there is, is the guidance that leads a teenager to successfully exploit and profit from their owns gifts, talents and skills.

“Three folk and blues musicians walked into a juvenile detention center full of young felons last year, armed with nothing but guitars and a repertoire they feared the teens would shout down.
[..]
The musicians were there to help the teens write a song.

Their song.

In their voices.

Voices that - until that moment - were lost in a cyclone of drug abuse, sexual abuse and crime that had defined their lives.

Ball, a syndicated humor columnist… first entered the W.J. Maxey Boys Training School in Green Oak Township in 2005.

He went in with a plan to crack open the tough shells of some young felons with a creative writing program. He came out, courtesy of a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, with a 15-minute DVD showcasing an insightful young poet.

That success compelled Ball, a former Chicago garage band guitarist, to bring the roots musicians to Maxey Boys and the Adrian Training School for girls.

In the spring of 2006, they went in with a plan to expose the teens to roots music. They came out with Lost Voices, a new nonprofit.”

(Source)