KENT COUNTY, Mich. — A newly formed partnership looks to teach teens at the Kent County Juvenile Detention Center video production, media literacy and other skills.
“The more things that we expose them to [the more] they begin to think differently about their choices,” said Huemartin Robinson II, the center’s assistant superintendent of detention. “Now, it's not about crime, it's not about me going to fend for my family, it's about we have an opportunity to do something better with my mind.”
Robinson says each Friday, the center allows area organizations to come and share their knowledge with the kids and teens housed there.
“The beautiful thing is to see the astonishment on their faces, and then to hear about how they can actually become involved in it,” said Robinson. “We've seen some young people get released and take those leaps.”
According to Robinson sessions range from artificial intelligence to music therapy; topics residents do not learn in the classroom. He says they will soon add another ability too.
“Many of them were saying, like, ‘Once I get out of here, this is the first place I'm going to go, the first thing I'm going to do,’” said Alaina Taylor, the education coordinator at GRTV. “It gives them something to get excited about and something to believe in for themselves.”
Taylor explains in February, GRTV began to offer workshops to the center’s residents on film theory, podcasting, video production, and media literacy.
“I think any kind of creative venture is going to be really kind of life fulfilling, especially if you feel, or society has told you ,that there's not a place for you,” said Taylor.
Once released, Taylor says the kids and teens can become certified through GRTV, which allows them to use the station’s equipment for free and further develop their multimedia skills.
The Midwest Tech Project, an organization that connects people of color and women to the technology industry, helped GRTV get into the center.
“We want people to become the creators of those platforms, we want people to be the innovators of those platforms,” said Jonathan Jelks, co-founder of the Midwest Tech Project. “This is a good way to get things started.”
Jelks says two years ago, the Midwest Tech Project offers sessions to the center on Fridays too. He hopes no matter what a resident learns, it allows them to be equipped for success after their release.
“Our hope for this program is that students leave and then engage with us in other ways in the community, and that we're able to be one of those organizations that are a catalyst to [reducing] recidivism,” said Jelks.
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