I got a call from Misty Walters at the Behavioral Transition Center yesterday. The BTC, as it is called, is a separate campus for middle school and high school aged offenders, who have gotten in serious trouble at school. Some districts refer to such facilities as the alternative school. I still get a little nervous when the BTC number appears on my cell phone. I wonder: Did I not finish my time back in 1979? Are they going to make me go back?

Misty called to tell me she has student for me. Several of us in the community mentor kids who are assigned to the BTC. We can bring in lunch for them and just spend some quality time visiting. I was a charter member of In School Suspension at Monterey High School in Lubbock, so I am imminently qualified for the mentoring role over there. The kids I mentor see a local minister on the surface. Little do they know that the principal at Monterey placed me on 40 years of probation following graduation? Some would say that I am wasting precious time with those kids. They would say: What is the use?

Why should any of us bother? They are heading to the penitentiary at some point. What is the use of trying? They are nothing more than juvenile delinquents. They are a burden to society and a cost burden to taxpayers. Why bother to invest a lot of time and energy in people who are destined to be institutionalized for the rest of their life? In a law enforcement setting, I occasionally hear such comments, but my childhood friend Colleen makes a strong case for putting a lot of time and energy into these kids.

Colleen is a veteran probation officer. She is quite good at what she does. Colleen is nobody’s fool. I would love to see one of her probationers try to snow her. In fact, I would love to be around when that happens! I might actually feel sorry for the troubled kid before it was all over. Little does he know that Colleen is a natural red head in addition to be a seasoned probation officer?

Everyday she is dealing with kids who have no concept of self-discipline. Many of them could not tell you the name of their biological father. Some of them are finding a sense of belonging in a gang. Drug abuse often enters the picture. These kids have been caught stealing, assaulting other people, and doing a host of other crimes that can indeed land them in the penitentiary when they are of age.

Colleen will tell you that she goes home in tears after work on some days. It is an overwhelming job. I asked her the other night if there were enough success stories to keep her going. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree in Central Park. She proceeded to share stories that would give goose bumps even to the most hardened among us. She told of a former probationer who became a medical doctor! There were other compelling stories as well. I am so grateful for Colleen’s commitment to troubled kids.

I am getting ready to head over to the Behavioral Transition Center to meet my new student. I am anxious to visit with him. Colleen will be at the front of my mind during that time. She inspires me to keep on trying, as I volunteer in that setting.Hopefully they will release me after a nice visit. You see: Colleen and I both decided we could not beat the system, so we decided to join it. It just occurred me….I feel sorry for the kids who have to deal with both of us!