Reaching out to teens
Charleston Teen Reach offers life skill activities for teens
Jennifer Hawes/ Staff Writer
Issue date: 4/13/05 Section: News
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The Charleston City Council proclaimed April as Teen Reach Awareness Month at last week's meeting to help raise awareness of Charleston's program and the benefits it has had for the community.
"(The employees and volunteers there) do a good job," Mayor Dan Cougill said of the program. "They work with the schools and do a lot of focus on the elementary schools to try and catch (teens) before they get set in their ways."
Teen Reach has been present in Charleston for seven to eight years and consists of 15 to 40 students between the ages of 10 and 17 who are registered in local schools.
Students in the program learn a variety of life skill activities, some of which include doing their own laundry, playing sports and learning about the risks of drugs.
"This program tries to target at-risk youth and reduces some behaviors of teen pregnancy, teen smoking and juvenile delinquency," said Mary Gienko, director of the Charleston Teen Reach program. "The program provides the students with academic assistance, sports recreation, cultural and artistic activities and parental involvement."
The local program employs 11 people and has 24 volunteers, 95 percent of which are from Eastern.
"Eastern students give us needed time spent to help children with academics and provide a mentor service," Gienko said.
Teen Reach counselors believe in their mission as role models for the youth.
"The program provides a safe after-school activity where the youth can receive help with homework and get educated in life skills activities," said Josh Kroeger, a youth counselor for the Charleston program.
One of the most difficult problems students have are "anger issues" and "outbursts," he said. To improve the problem there's an anger management class where the students learn how to control their anger.
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