One by one, teens shuffle into classroom 24-H inside the Denny Juvenile Justice center in Everett — and while they are all required to dress in the same orange outfits, each has a unique story.
For a number of these teens, they made their way here because of circumstances at their homes, or through bad choices they made that led them down the wrong path. But a group of former inmates and a Seattle police detective are trying to stop the cycle of juvenile offenders who often later land in prison through a project that asks offenders to answer a simple question.
Four years ago, Seattle detective Kim Bogucki started looking for answers. She met with a group of female inmates and asked them a simple question: “If somebody could have said or done something that might have helped you, or changed the path you were on, what would it have been?” The “If Project” was born.
“Hard times at home, mom’s an addict, dad’s in prison,” said one 15-year-old inmate.
“My dad was in a gang and robbed somebody and when that person found out it was him, he got retaliation and shot my dad,” said a 16-year-old.
There are plenty of painful memories these teens related and it’s those circumstances that turned many of the teens to the streets and eventually landed them in juvenile detention.
“It started for me where you are all sitting and it ended for me in prison,” she said.
Bush served a 7-year sentence for armed robbery at the Washington Corrections Center for Women.
While she was there, Bush met Seattle police detective Kim Bogucki at a prison writing workshop.
When Bogucki asked a room full of female offenders what could have been different in their lives so that they could have avoided prison.
At first, only a few inmates answered, but four years later, Bogucki has collected more than 1,000 essays and has expanded the “If Project” to the men`s prisons.
He’s done shootings, he’s been shot at. By the time he was 15 years old he was sentenced to 12-½ years in prison. That story is similar to Pollard Faalogo’s story who now comes to the center to speak to at-risk youth.
“Our only goal here is to help you guys avoid that path. So what, yeah you’re here. We make choices. But we can also choose to change those choices,” Bush tells a group gathered.
Part of that process, is figuring out what got these teens here in the first place, and for some, identifying that “If” moment is easy.
“What if my mom never picked up the pipe?,” one 15-year-old asked.
For others, answering that question takes more thought.
One 16 year-old said he realized if his dad was still alive, things might be different.
“If he was there to support and guide me and tell me the things he should to guide his kid, then i would be flying straight right now,” he said. Instead, he got involved with drugs and a gang.
The “If” team makes him a deal — if he can stay clean for six months, they’ll take him skydiving — a dream he’s had since he was a kid. They even seal the deal with a contract.
“It’ll be fun. Something to give me a reason to get through what I have to do,” he said.
“They’re just strangers coming in and basically stepping up and making an offer to you that should have been made by the people that should be caring for you,” said another teen.
The former inmates often become mentors for these teens and keep in touch with them on the outside, helping to motivate them to make positive changes in their lives — and it's working.
“We all said we don`t see how he can figure out how to get back to school and he was shut down. One of the guys got a text in May that said hey I’m graduating and I couldn’t have done it without the workshop and the things you told me,” Bogucki said.
“You come in here with this attitude that you want to just get out and keep doing what you're doing — going on the same path with drugs, fighting and violence,” a 15-year-old said. “This ‘If’ program came in and told me there is hope for you – it’s not too late to turn around. I know it’s possible to come from nothing and become everything.”
“We are impacting them even if they hear us once. We`ve planted a seed and that’s what it’s all about because once that seed is planted, no matter what phase it is in their life, they’re going to remember it and it’s going to begin to grow,” Bush said.
King County prosecutor Dan Satterberg asked Bogucki and the “If” team to visit at-risk youth in Seattle and the project could soon be expanding to Pierce County.
The “If Project” team is always looking for mentors for at-risk youth. To find out more information on how to help, visit http://www.theifproject.com/
