River Bend Middle School student Jeff Dossmann considers Project Safe Summer a better way to spend the day than playing video games and watching television.
"We have fun in everything," said Dossmann, who is 14 and lives in Sterling. "We get to talk about any subject we want to."
For the past two weeks, Dossmann and another seven Sterling area students have been attending a month-long summer camp program to learn life skills and basic health, along with taking field trips. They meet at Sterling Middle School five days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., spending part of the time off the school's campus.
"One of the things we're trying to do is keep them active and not give them an opportunity to fall into street gangs," said George Monge, who helps lead the program with Sheriff's Office deputy Eric Paul, a school resource officer for Park View High School. The two realized they "had to do something for young people," said Monge, a prevention specialist for the county Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services. "We're having a lot of issues because they have nothing to do. It's not like they have a place to go and hang out."
PROJECT SAFE SUMMER, which is modeled after a program in New York, is a violence and gang-prevention program that exposes students to information and experiences they might not get otherwise, Paul said. He and Monge take the students on field trips three to four times a week to museums in Washington, D.C., on fishing and swimming trips and to the movies and bowling.
"They get to mingle on a day-to-day basis," Paul said. "A lot of times when you bring kids in, they don't know each other. They form relationships. Hopefully those relationships will nurture past this camp."
The camp is based on the curriculum of "Life Skills Training, Promoting Health and Personal Development," a 15-week program that covers a variety of topics in workbook format, including social skills and assertiveness. The camp aims to help the students become positive leaders. It provides them with information on juvenile crimes and the associated legal ramifications and on drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse. And it addresses issues with diversity, aiming to bridge gaps between cultures and communities.
"Kids from each area don't get along. What I gather from the kids is they're divided among the schools," Paul said.
Through the lessons and field trips, the students gain confidence and self-awareness, along with realizing they have someone with whom they can talk, according to Monge, who follows up with the students during the school year. "That's what we try to do with this program is be consistent," he said. "What we're trying to do is let them know there is structure and that there are rules they have to adhere to."
HEALTH IS ANOTHER ASPECT of the summer camp, which is presented by public health nurse Ann Pullen in six sessions. Pullen provides information on health issues and on human sexuality to help the students clear up any wrong information or lack of information they may have.
"Everybody assumes kids know everything because of the bad press we get," said Pullen, a registered nurse with the county Department of Health. "If they don't know about it, it's our fault."
Pullen considers talking with the students the best part of her job. "These kids act like they know. You start talking the talk, and they open up," she said. "Maybe I can change a little bit of behavior. Hopefully, they'll think about it."
Project Safe Summer is a partnership among the Sheriff's Office, the Public Schools and CSB (Community Services Board) Prevention and Community Outreach Services. This year, the program was offered in two sessions, the first one beginning June 23 and the second on July 21. School staff and juvenile justice agencies referred at-risk youth to participate in the program.