The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Kathy Wesliak Chrorucie Special At first appearanrce Kevin appears to be an average wellâ€" mannered |4â€"yearâ€"old Dressed in a soccer shirt and jeans be [ashions a pleasant. shy smile that hides his past conflhicts Two years ago Kevin (not his real name) was a delingquent youth who‘d been caught stealing several times from his parents and relatives 1t finaliy got to the point where his parents wouidn‘t take him with them anywhere for fear he‘d steal something At the age of 12 he was referred to the John Howard Society‘s Attendance Centre for juveniles in the criminal justice system The Society is a voluntary. charitable organization which provides practical help to people who are. or have been. in trouble with the law The Waterioo Wellington Attendance Centre is a voluntary program for children which aims to prevent delinguent behavior and further invoiverment with police and courts After two vears involyvement with this program Kevin‘s attitude towards crime and lhfe in general has changed and he is now active as a volunteer at the centre helping younger boys and girls who need assistance and direc on * All of the children in this program â€" are under 12â€"years old. the majority being males between the ages of 11 and 12 The average child has had six police contacts before being referred to the centre "A primary goal is to direct the children towards constructive leisure activities._ says Barry Clark, a counselior at the attendance centre We want to steer them away from the activities which are getting them into trouble _ John Howard Attendance Centre gives youngsters a fresh start Tap Jazz ET ‘OFFâ€"OIL‘ NOW! The youngsters spend between three and five evenings L2 FRITZ ELECTRIC ELECTRIC HOT WATER FURNACE Installation is simple using your Present Radiators and Plumbing ask about a CIHI ROMALOYXKX trom Fritz Electric ELECTRIC BASEBOARD HEATING SYSTEMS 20% SAVINGS IN B.T.V.‘s No open flame, clean & sete, no summer service charges Sermny the Electrical Industry ‘or Over 50 Years Mevememnnmnnnmpmesicntenrumtianaiey ) WE ASSIST ASEBOARD HEATING SYSTEMS OBTAINING % SAVINGS IN B.T.VU.‘s GOVT. GRANT clean & sete, no summer service charges . OF m.w CALL TODAY FOR A FREE ESTIMATE. s s e Highly GCertiied . Licentiate 15 1 ® Uver 2D years leachuny eaperience e Forner suloipt with Nusgara Cuar Ballie! Co e Irained several students tor careers in Tea slage e Iraied under Jean Spear Geverly Feder and the Nationial Balle! Sutigut the cuaterloo Ages 3 and over Register for Fall Classes DIRECTOR â€" SHARON (HOUSE) LARAMIE M C D 1 A C D M oA call 884â€"5724 Wed. Sept. 7 or Thurs. Sept. 8 trom 6:00â€"8:00 40 King St. N., Waterioo ELECTRIC FORCED WARM AIR FURNACE installation is simple using eristing ductwork. Heat Pump instailation Available 576â€"4560 d iA H a week at the centre where they utilize time developing creative skills, playing organized sports, and improving their academic abilities. Time is set aside for macrame, painting, drawing, string art and leatherwork. Physical activities include basketball. floor hockey, soccer, karate, weight training, egymnastics and swimming. Outings are organized and speakers age brought in to deal with such varied topics as dental hygiene, bicycle repair, and fishing techniques. St. Johns ambulance emergency courses, welding and babysitting courses are also available Time is allotted each evening for the children to do homework. and tutors are assigned to them to monitor their daily assigniments. But, as Clark points out, experience has shown that teachers feel many students need more of a structured recreational environment rather than an extension of the daytime academic activi ties % All youngsters are picked up at their homes between 5 and 6 p.m . driven to the attendance centre program and driven home again by 9 pm. Rhe pickâ€"up assures regular attendance and prevents the possibility of problems to and from the centre Most of the youths are referred by the youth bureau of the Wateriloo Regional Police Force Once the parents and child agree to the program the counsellors develop a profile on the child gathering information from the police, the Board of Education, Family and Children‘s Services and any other counselling or health services invoived with the child This profile will dictate the content and direction of the child‘s program at the attendance cen tre H "The program is very individualized." says Clark ‘‘There are three basic areas of a child‘s life that we look at â€" his family fife, his social life, and his academic life We try to find where the child‘s specific problem lies and then focus in on that need. problems may simply need to have a tutor assigned to his house and may not need to atiend the centre whereas someone who has problems filling his spare time effectively may need to spend time at the cenire with little time spent on academics. The time the boys and girls spend here and the kinds of activities they do are very different from one person to the next. "In some cases where a child has serious behavior problems we‘ll set up a contract for him to follow but this isn‘t for everyone."‘ s Clark stresses that this kind of individualized program couldn‘t be run without the crgw of volunteers which offer their different services. _ *‘*We set up individualized volunteer programs dependâ€" ing on how involved the volunteer wants to be and in what way he or she wants to help out. | S There is no direct family involvement in the centre. Couseliors take a mediation approach when dealing with a child and his family. â€" e O :"Right now, for exampl'e. we have a girl who knows sign language and she‘s teaching swimming and counselling to two deaf mutes."‘ es â€" ""Many of the children come from broken homes," says Clark. "It‘s very rare to have a child here that has no {family problems." o â€" â€" Home meetings with the family may be set up if there are any difficulties Often a contract will be set up between the parents and the child with the counselior acting as mediator to settle disputes "We used to have problems when the parents would withdraw a child from the centre for punishment but now we have parents sign support of placement contracts so they are, at least, morally obligated to let the child go," Â¥. AUGUST 17. 1983 â€"â€" PAGE 8 (Continued on page 21)