For the second year in a row, a program dedicated to aiding young first-time offenders that is operated by the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) has received a grant and special recognition.
Project SAVE (Safe Alternatives and Violence Education) is the recipient of a $5,000 grant from the Martin Luther King Celebration Committee. On April 11, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) presented the grant during a special event held at the Joe Mimms/Hagginwood Community Center in Sacramento.
"Project SAVE helps keep teenagers on a path to success." Rep. Matsui said while making her presentation. "Project SAVE works to help make sure their first offense is their last offense."
On hand to receive the donation on behalf of SCOE and Project SAVE were retired Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Talmadge Jones; Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools David W. Gordon; Acting Lieutenant Darrell T. Martin, Sacramento Police Department; SCOE Prevention & Student Services Director Cheryl Raney; and SCOE Project Specialists Carol Gust and Lynn Milan.
Project SAVE is a program for adolescent first-time offenders, ages 10 to 17, who have been involved in violence or weapons possession on or near a school campus. Project SAVE offers alternatives for the less sophisticated offender who acts without thinking or in response to peer pressure, and who is not yet intimately involved in the juvenile justice system.
Project SAVE requires parent participation. Youth and their parents or guardians attend a six-hour Saturday class that addresses issues of weapons and violence and provides information and skills related to effective anger management, refusal skills, choices and consequences, and parenting skills.
Those eligible to participate are Sacramento County students and their parents/guardians. All Sacramento County school districts and SCOE Community Schools may also participate.
Collaborative partners include County Probation Department, County Sheriff's Office, Sacramento City Police Department, Superior and Municipal Courts, Sacramento County School Districts, and community members.
For more information about Project SAVE, call (916) 228-2202.