At Risk Teens / SCUBA Program While Doing Time

[B.L. Justice]

I run a correctional/treatment facility for teen boys. I have been looking for a way to bring SCUBA into the institution as part of a citizenship/self discipline/career path program. I know that at risk kids in the community get involved in SCUBA but I don't know if it is being done in a correctional setting.

I know that there must be all kinds of logistical issues that would need to be coordinated but I am not sure where to begin. Anyone have any ideas? I would love to connect with an LDS and with a certification agency so that the program has legitimacy and is of the highest quality.

I'm on the West Coast / So Cal

[HatchetJoe]

I always thought the idea of such facilities was tp train in skills and trades not recreational activities. Then again I am not in corrections or Law Enforcement. Seems to me that that not be encouragement in the proper direction, teach them to play instead of work! That is unless you will be training them for deep diving salvage work or similar.

[Scubakevdm]

I run a correctional/treatment facility for teen boys. I have been looking for a way to bring SCUBA into the institution as part of a citizenship/self discipline/career path program. I know that at risk kids in the community get involved in SCUBA but I don't know if it is being done in a correctional setting.

I know that there must be all kinds of logistical issues that would need to be coordinated but I am not sure where to begin. Anyone have any ideas? I would love to connect with an LDS and with a certification agency so that the program has legitimacy and is of the highest quality.

I'm on the West Coast / So Cal

I'm afraid I'm kinda far, but I just wanted to thank you for the work that you do, for helping people, and for being a part of the solution. Good luck!

[Ber Rabbit]

Insurance may be a hurdle in a correctional setting. Investigate what the issues might be if one of them were to become permanently disabled or die while diving with your program.
Ber

[Rhone Man]

I would have thought Scuba diving would be a very useful and constructive activity to teach as part of correctional programmes, but I suspect logistics and cost would be a major headache.

[roturner]

I would have thought Scuba diving would be a very useful and constructive activity to teach as part of correctional programmes, but I suspect logistics and cost would be a major headache.

I would think any activity that puts structure, discipline and teamwork into their lives might work out positively.... I'd love to be involved in something like this. I'd even volunteer my time if it would help give some of these young men a better future....

Too bad I live a gazillion miles away....

B.L. Justice, I would think one of the main issues would be the need for some kind of accounting process and control over who has access to what. I used to play basketball in the jail next to where I worked and it was an eye-opener to see the concern about the kinds of things that could be used as a weapon.... I would think if you took a set of scuba gear apart you could improvise some pretty decent weapons out of the parts...

R..

[DennisS]

Dade Marine institute has a program. Their website leaves a lot to be desired but it's a place to get an email/phone number that might point you in the right direction

DADE MARINE INSTITUTE

[Rhone Man]

B.L. Justice, I would think one of the main issues would be the need for some kind of accounting process and control over who has access to what. I used to play basketball in the jail next to where I worked and it was an eye-opener to see the concern about the kinds of things that could be used as a weapon.... I would think if you took a set of scuba gear apart you could improvise some pretty decent weapons out of the parts...

R..

Don't think you have to improvise too much, big f...ing dive knife will do the trick.

[B.L. Justice]

All are great points. Hatchetjoe, I understand your point. It is about balance. These are the same guys that we take out to local parks and beaches and landfills to do trash, weed and graffiti eradication. We take them to local colleges to show them that higher education is within their reach - if they just reach. They attend school every day and I have had a VERY few who have done well enough to do work furloughs in the local area.

One thing we recognize is that almost all of these guys will spend the majority of their lives NOT locked up. Since they will all be released at some point to walk among us all, the goal is to teach them the habits that have kept folks like us from being locked up in the first place. Most of these guys don't know how to recreate. They think a good time is hanging with the homies and smoking up or downing a 40oz. We try to show them that they have many, many options but they have to take the first steps.

SCUBA has been a powerful experience in my life. It has taught me to rely on my training and skill, to trust my buddy, to be worthy of the trust my buddy places in me and to respect the Oceans and the life within. It has been a humbling as well as empowering experience to dive. I don't want to sound too "Polyanna" about this but I think some of this stuff could rub off on the wards.

As for the hard logistics..... wavers, medical clearances, very careful selection of a very small, exclusive group are all areas I have been pondering. Naturally...... no dive knives for these guys.

[sbutts]

There's a group around Chicago that teaches scuba to at-risk kids.
You might try contacting them for pointers or info: STARS