Capital City Youth Services:

Making Sure The Kids Are Alright

This Saturday's "Tally Awards"  Celebration Benefits Kids Caught in Bad Situations

by Tony Miller, Grapevine Staff

Kenny Register was 17 years old when he was dropped off at Capital City Youth Service's Someplace Else Youth Shelter by his Boys & Girls Club Mentor back in January of 2011. He was homeless. His father was in prison. His mother was homeless and forced to move to Virginia to live with her daughter.

Kenny Register - eager to begin a wonderful life

Kenny ended up at Capital City Youth Services, a home for troubled and abandoned children here in Tallahassee.  Kenny said, “Where I came from, it was me constantly trying to find something to eat.” It is hard to focus on your future when you can’t even get past today.

But at CCYS, Kenny was able to focus on his future without worrying about if he was going to eat or where he was going to sleep. He began the process for Job Corp and excelled at the CCYS program, such as chores, group and individual counseling. In his free time, he played basketball and video games and made sure he set a good example for the younger kids.  Everything a teenager is supposed to do.

Before leaving CCYS, Kenny wrote that one thing that kept him striving was to “Always remember you are working towards something, so don’t give up on anything… I believe there is a lot to accomplish in life.”

Many of the children at CCYS are going through a struggle and it is hard for them to stay as positive as Kenny was.  They face behavioral issues resulting from turmoil at home.

The home at Capital City Youth Services houses all children ages 10 and up for a short term – typically 8 to 10 days before being able to go home, where CCYS stays involved with the family.

But many older teens are not able to go home and they stay at CCYS for an extended period.  Unfortunately, when they turn 18, they are sent out into the world lacking the skills or support they need to succeed on their own.

To help with this situation, CCYS is raising money to build a Transitional Living Center for the youth age 15 to 18.

Kevin Priest, Executive Director for CCYS, told Grapevine, “There is a segment of the youth population that is disenfranchised with what a functional living situation is supposed to look like. We try to interrupt that cycle of abuse that led them into this situation."

"We need to provide them with skills to live on their own. Kids are being sent out into society that don’t have applicable skills and they end up in situations where they are not employable or end up in trouble. We make sure they finish school and learn how to function on their own.”

Kevin Priest, CCYS President Spoke with Tallahassee Grapevine

 "Kids are not hard-wired to have bad attitudes, it is environmental." - Kevin Priest, CCYS President

The Transitional Living Center would have facilities where they kids would do their own laundry, make their own dinners, and be more independent in a controlled and instructional environment.

When asked what types of teens would end up in the center, Kevin Priest told me, “Kids are easily taken advantage of and we find runaways that end up under a pimp - to them, it’s normal street survival – we have even seen cases where parents are in desperate situations and pimp out their own daughters.  People don’t realize that this type of domestic trafficking happens here in Tallahassee. This is just one element of kids we would help.”

Sketch of the future Transitional Living Center

To help raise funds for the Transitional Living Center, CCYS is the beneficiary of the proceeds of the 2012 Tally Awards – this Saturday night at the Antique Auto Museum.  Back in November, the people of Tallahassee nominated and voted for their favorite local businesses in a plethora of categories and the results are in.  The Black-Tie event is Tallahassee’s equivalent to the Academy Awards as business owners and their staff get dressed up and dine and schmooze with their peers and await the hosts to announce their name as The Tally Award winner.

The Tally Awards Await Their Winners

To Get Your Tickets for The Tally Awards before Saturday, January 28th CLICK HERE

To Learn More About Capital City Youth Services CLICK HERE

If are a youth or a parent that needs help, CLICK HERE to learn how CCYS can assist.