Category All Art Classes Classical Music Concerts DANCE Etc Exhibits Families Farmers Markets Film Happenings Holiday Holiday Lectures Music (non-classical) Theater

Submit events

PHOTS BY TIFFANY RICHARDS

LITTLE GREEN HOUSES. Invited guests walked through the greenhouses at Remann Hall May 2. (Inset) Supporters of YMCA’s Friends and Servants program were all smiles during a press conference announcing its arrival in Tacoma. The program has operated in Puyallup for 15 years.

Juvenile offenders get a second chance with Greenhouse Project

By Tiffany Richards

On May 2, the YMCA of Tacoma-Pierce County Friends and Servants outreach program for juvenile offenders hosted the official opening of the Greenhouse Project at Tacoma’s Remann Hall. The project is based on a similar program operated by the Mel Korum YMCA in Puyallup, which has assisted that area’s juvenile offenders for the past 15 years under the guidance of YMCA Friends and Servants Program Director Bill Bowers.

“When the kids come to us, we instill in them three core values: you’re valuable, we care about you, and there’s hope for a better future,” he said. “We hope to get them on a better track in life by raising their self-confidence and giving them mentorship and opportunities they’ve never had.”

The project provides opportunities for juvenile offenders in the Tacoma area to work off their community service hours and pay off various court fines, as well as an opportunity to become involved in the Friends and Servants program once those hours are complete.

“Anytime the Puyallup area kids have fines to pay, they can work them off at the Mel Korum YMCA Friends and Servants greenhouses. Now, the Tacoma area kids have the same opportunity,” said Juvenile Court Administrator Shelly Maluo.

But the organizers of the Greenhouse Project also see the long-term possibilities, in both the individual lives of juveniles and their surrounding communities.

“It’s all about hope. It’s all about collaboration for a good cause, it accelerates something that couldn’t have been done separately,” said Bob Ecklund, president and CEO of YMCA of Tacoma-Pierce County, referring to government and non-governmental cooperation in making the Greenhouse Project possible.

“[We’re] replacing hopelessness with hope in the lives of young people,” he said, focusing on the potential long-term impact on participants’ lives.

“The Greenhouse Project is a positive endeavor,” said Pierce County Superior Court Judge John McCarthy. “They’re learning something – they’re learning a skill they can use throughout life. They’re learning to nurture.”

“Though Friends and Servants plants seeds for their nursery, they are also planting seeds with our youth to grow into responsible and caring adults. What makes the biggest impact is that the youth build relationships with adults,” said Maluo.

Several long-time staff and volunteers with the YMCA, and the Friends and Servants program in particular, had similar things to say about the Greenhouse Project.

“[The program has been a] huge success. It’s very exciting to see this come down to Tacoma. It’s been such a success in Puyallup over the years,” said Sarah Homan, annual giving director at the YMCA. “We all rally around it. It’s really immeasurable the benefits the juveniles receive.”

Volunteer Dave Wheeler, who has worked with youth for several years at the Friends and Servants greenhouses in Puyallup, said “it’s been marvelous. I’ve had so much fun [working with youth]. It’s fun showing the kids practical skills, to have them around positive people who treat them kindly.”

Wheeler went on to comment that, with this program, “they’re putting the ‘C’ back into the YMCA” (for readers who are unaware, YMCA is an acronym for Young Men’s Christian Association).

Story Tools