Program teaches
tough love to troubled youth
By John Loesing
Acorn Staff Writer

Learning a sense of discipline JUST ONE MORE-Sgt. Ivan Potter, left, and Sgt. Eduardo Solis-Ramierz give a participant in the VIDA program a tough time while the teenager does pushups. The two Marines from Los Alamitos Marine Corps Base volunteer their time to work with at-risk youth during the 16-week program. Some of the trainees have experienced substance abuse problems. See more photos on page 31. MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn

Weekends might be the perfect time to stay in bed and tune the world out, but not for one group of teenage boys who get up bright and early on Saturdays so they can learn how to cope with their problems.

The teens belong to a 16-week program for at-risk youth called VIDA, or Vital Intervention and Directional Alternatives.

Sponsored by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, VIDA works with more than 600 teenagers, including 28 who live in the Conejo and San Fernando valleys.

The program began in East Los Angeles in 1997.

VIDA program uses 'tough love' approach on wayward teens DISCIPLINE-Michael Joffee, 15, a participant in the VIDA program, receives an earful from Sgt. Ivan Potter, left, and Lance Cpl. Kent Ma.

Saturdays are "boot camp" day on the VIDA schedule, and for the local contingent, that means assembling at 7:45 a.m. sharp at Diamond X Ranch on Mulholland Highway.

The 10-hour day begins with a round of hard calisthenics and some important lessons about teamwork.

For many of the teenagers, discipline is a good thing, said Dep. Tom Spiegle, director of the VIDA unit at Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station in Calabasas.

The crimes they’ve committed include drug and alcohol possession, petty theft and even grand theft auto.

PRACTICE-Two youths check the fence that they're learning to build. VIDA participants spend Saturday afternoons building fences and maintaining parks to learn teamwork and serve the public.

"Some have no criminal record and they’re just young and causing problems at home, and just starting to become defiant," according to Spiegle. "As a preemptive strike, the parents will enroll them in the program."

Other kids are ordered to take part in VIDA as a condition of the courts. None wants to be there, at least at first.

"He hated it, and in the beginning, he would stay up at night and dread going," said one Agoura Hills father whose 17-year-old son graduated from VIDA last fall. "Towards the end he said, ‘I know I’m accomplishing something here and I don’t want it to end.’"

Despite a promising future, the boy had been caught several times drinking and stealing, according to the dad.

SHADOW-Lance Cpl. Kent Ma, left, and Dep. Robert DeSantis watch participants exercise at Diamond X Ranch in rural Calabasas.

"We finally said ‘That’s it’ and we enrolled him. It was a shock to us ... They try to break them down initially, but at the same time try to teach them about teamwork."

"The parents are at a loss," Spiegle said. "They’ve exhausted every tool in their bag."

VIDA hopes to put the boys on the right track before their bad behavior becomes repetitive.

The Lost Hills group includes three boys from Agoura Hills, two from Calabasas, two from Thousand Oaks and one from Oak Park. The group can’t accommodate girls at the present time because it has no female deputy in the program. Regular body searches are part of the VIDA requirement.

BIG BROTHER-Sgt. Chris Merkle (above) watches over teenagers crawling in dirt during physical training on Saturday. IN TROUBLE-After not showing up on a Saturday, an deputy and Marine went to the participant's house and brought him to "boot camp" in handcuffs (right). VIDA stands for Vital Intervention and Directional Alternatives, a program of L.A. County Sheriff's Department.

The exhausting Saturday morning routine is followed by a trip to the sheriff’s station where the boys undergo further close-order drills. Later, there are counseling and tutoring sessions, role-playing and discussion groups. Also included are trips to the Los Angeles County Morgue, Corcoran State Prison, Juvenile Hall and other components of the California Youth Authority.

In addition, each participant is required to perform 160 hours of community service, including graffiti removal, property repair and community revitalization.

Members of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves help lead the Saturday drills, but VIDA learned recently the Marines have been called to active duty because of the war against terrorism. Deputies are expected to fill the gaps.

On Thursdays, VIDA links up with a group called Action at Oak View continuation school in Oak Park where the focus is on substance abuse prevention.

Photos by Michael Coons/The Acorn

Drugs are only part of today’s youth problem, according to experts. According to Action statistics, it’s alcohol that kills more young people between the ages of 15 and 24 than all other drugs combined.

Spiegle said about a third of the VIDA teens become "scared straight" by the end of the four-month program, but another third, he said, will fall back into trouble no matter what the consequences are.

"It’s that middle third whose minds are relatively open and they can still be molded," Spiegle said.

So overall, does the program work?

The recidivism rate among VIDA graduates is a miniscule 2 percent, according to Spiegle.

The teen from Agoura Hills reportedly has stayed out of troubled since his graduation and appears to be headed down the right path.

"It was the best thing that ever happened," said the father. "It was a lifesaver for him."

But Spiegle has seen enough that he knows he should keep his fingers crossed.

"I tell [the parents] this is not a magic program. I just can’t wave my wand. Once they leave the program that’s when the test really starts.

"Anyone can be good while someone is watching."

See related photos on page 31.