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Antelope Valley Press

Convicts aim to keep youth out of trouble

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press May 7, 2002.

By RICH BREAULT
Valley Press Senior Writer

LANCASTER - There will be pizza, music, dancing and a message for youth at the Visions of Hope event on Wednesday, May 8, at Lancaster Performing Arts Center.

"Get in the Black Box" features state prison convicts and ex-convicts as speakers, encouraging youths to stay out of trouble and out of prison.

The program, which targets youth 12 to 20, begins at 5:30 p.m.

"There are many different ways to reach young people," said Dean Crenshaw, a state parole officer who founded Visions of Hope. "They may not listen to parents, teacher or other authority figures, but they'll listen to someone who has been there."

Crenshaw has worked more than 20 years in the state correctional system.

He worked for five years at California State Prison Los Angeles County in Lancaster and put together a group of carefully screened inmate speakers to talk to Valley youth in a program called "Stay on the Streets."

"But the question was asked: `How do we know you're going to do the things you say you're going to do when you get out?' " Crenshaw said. "The question prompted me to see just how many inmates make a successful transition.

"It's not a rosy picture. Many (inmates) don't make it. We want to show the youth a few selected persons who made it, but the sad fact is that the majority don't make it."

Crenshaw said he doesn't want the speakers to get into youths' faces as in the "Scared Straight" program. He prefers another approach.

"We want the young people to have a fun time while they're hearing the message. That's why we have pizza before the event, along with hip-hop music and dancers, rappers and the like," he said.

Crenshaw believes "that life is hard enough for all of us without complicating it by making bad decisions or choices."

"What starts out as fun (using drugs and at-risk behavior) ends up as a nightmare," he said. "It's not what happens to you in life, it's how you handle life's circumstances. We all have tragedies in our lives. How are we going to handle them?"

Visions of Hope also offers youth its six-week Extreme Vision program, which features a course derived from materials from the Anthony Robbins Foundation. Several Extreme Vision scholarships will be given out at Wednesday event, along with CDs, gift certificates and other prizes.

"Extreme Vision is not for everyone," Crenshaw said. "We don't want a person who wants to change his or her life; we want someone to convince us that their life has to change, and they must be willing to take the steps to bring that about.

"Are they ready to make a decision? Remember, a real decision is backed up by action, not just talk."

Seating at LPAC, 750 West Lancaster Blvd., is on a first-come, first-served basis.

For information on the event or to get involved with Visions of Hope, call Crenshaw at (661) 274-4155, Ext. 212.