Week Four Completed

This was the first time that our group went without Professor Dolson. I was nervous that the guards were not going to take us seriously as we are just college students. They were surprisingly accompanying and getting into Bon Air was very efficient.

When we all met, the whole group was together. I told Eric that we missed him last meeting and he explained that he had a whole family meeting. His brother is also at Bon Air and I think it was hard for him to see everyone together. I could not imagine only getting to see your whole family every few months. I get to talk to mine everyday and I still miss them.

I really liked how the discussion went that day. We intended on breaking up into our smaller groups but Eric pushed us to stay and discuss as a group. I actually really enjoyed getting to know Eric and Jordan. We talked a lot about Halloween. When I asked Jordan what he was going to do for the holiday, he said nothing because he’s “locked up.” I was kind of taken aback by this. I felt bad for asking the question because I forgot to factor in that fact that they have to miss out on some of the fun things they could originally do. When Crystal said that they she may want to go trick or treating, Eric emphasized that she should be careful because she wouldn’t know which houses were ok to go to. This really made me think. Coming from a safe area, I was able to trick or treat alone and go to any house I wanted. But Eric grew up differently. He had to constantly be conscious of violence and crime.

Towards the end of the meeting, Eric shared that he is nervous for leaving Bon Air. He has been there for two years and has missed a lot of important milestones in his life. He said that he does not want to come back but he doesn’t know what steps to take once he gets out. This actually made me incredibly angry. If the point of sending these kids to juvie is to rehabilitate them, you would think that they would provide some sort of aid to get them back on track. That is a major flaw in the system that I really hope they fix in the near future. I really care about these boys and sincerely think that they can turn their lives around with the proper assistance.