DJJ Youth Service Day Makes Difference

By Samantha Harris
Senior Writer
 
     There was a time when Essence let her temper get the best of her.
     But Saturday afternoon, as she was helping to supply the homeless with free clothes and providing a bench where the weary can wait on the city bus, that life seemed ages away.
Essence, who is 13 years old, has gotten into trouble before. That trouble landed her in a South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice program which requires her to complete community service.
The program has helped her to get her life back on track, she said.
     During Saturday’s "Restoring Carolina Through Youth Service" day, Essence, other students in the Anderson County DJJ program and a handful of volunteers did service projects to give back to their community.
     The day started with installing benches at the Anderson City bus stops at the Emergency Soup Kitchen on Franklin Street and the Goodwill store on Clemson Boulevard.
     The Anderson County DJJ staff, grateful for the S.C. General Assembly’s assistance during tough budget cuts this year, wanted to help others in return, county director Amy Bradshaw, said.
     “We thought about what we could do, and very few of the bus stops in Anderson have a place for people waiting on the bus to sit,” Amy said. “So we decided to make some benches.”
The project quickly became a community effort, as McCoy Lumber of Honea Path donated the wood, United Way of Anderson donated the paint, a local builder made the benches and the students at the Anderson County Alternative School helped to paint them.
Bradshaw was impressed with the students’ efforts.
     “This shows others that these kids aren’t all bad,” she said.
Essence was smiling as she helped to install a placard on the new bench outside of Goodwill.
     “I enjoy being involved with helping other people,” she said. “I was on the wrong path because I had a lot of anger. But I started going to church, and I realized someone loved me. If I had someone who always loved me, then I had someone to work for and be good for.”
Brittany had a similar story.
     She was a student at Pendleton High School before she got into fights and was sent to the alternative school.
     “A lot of students fuss and cuss because they don’t want to be there, but it saved my life,” she said. “If you let it, the alternative school can turn your life around.”
Brittany started paying attention in school and working to improve her behavior. Administrators who cared and DJJ staff members supported her and gave her confidence, she said.
     When the students visited the soup kitchen to place the new bench, they saw dozens of people lined up outside waiting to eat. They invited the people back to the DJJ office, where they were giving away free clothes, another part of the service project.
     Brittany, who is expecting a baby in November, was moved by the crowd’s needs.
     “I see these people, and I don’t know, my heart feels for them,” she said. “Since I am carrying a child, it seems like my heart grows bigger and bigger. I know I am too young to be pregnant, but it has helped my life, in a way. I am doing so many things differently now because I want to be a good mother for him.”
     Saturday’s project came at the end of Brittany’s community service, but she plans to come back and help with future projects, she said.
     “My family has been through some rough things,” she said. “There were times when I didn’t know if we would make it to the next day. People helped us then, and now I want to help others because I know what it’s like.”