Legislation crafted with teen input at Freedom School at Camp Sweeney would help ex-youth offenders start over

OAKLAND — A program director at an East Bay youth detention facility recently likened the reentry of teen offenders into society to an alcoholic straight out of rehab, going to work at a bar.

But an East Bay legislator’s bill that juvenile offenders helped craft this past summer would address challenges faced by teens thrust back into the same toxic environments that got them into trouble in the first place.

For teens at the Freedom School at Camp Wilmont Sweeney, a juvenile delinquency program by the Alameda County Probation Department for boys ages 15-19, it was a real-life civics lesson. Their input on reentry challenges inspired Assemblyman Tony Thurmond, D-Oakland, to write a bill advocating better services for youths exiting the juvenile justice system, including transitional housing. [Continue Reading Here]