Breakthroughs for Youth at Risk
“It sounded like a drag at first...

It has been the most positive motivation in my life yet.”

Billie Anne
Grades from F’s to B’s
New relationship with family
Quit drugs


Breakthroughs for Youth at Risk makes teens see the tsunami bearing down upon them. Then it throws them a canoe and hands them a paddle.    

Our program

Tsunami Warning Center

Our Tsunami Warning Center comes in the form of a man who has gone across the country conducting intensive camps that turn teens around. His name is Clinton Terrell. (Click here for Background Information) Clinton speaks their language. He reaches kids. He shows that they are on a collision course with destiny whether they like it or not. He makes them see that they have a choice. And he is skilled enough to guide them to the right choice. It results in a paradigm shift of major proportions.

Our intensive camp is a five-day, non-residential course held at various sites around Islands. BYAR has captured the imagination of a wide segment of the community. Over $200,000 per program is contributed in donated services, facilities and goods each time a program is held. In addition, BYAR has raised $90,000 in cash for each of three cycles given to approximately 50 students.

 “The program was filled with encouragement throughout the entire time. I found myself looking forward to going back after only the first day.”  (Student)  

Our Steersman

Even if you throw a canoe to a drowning man, you have no assurance that he can get back to land. He might not know how to paddle. He might not know where land is. He may discouraged after only a few strokes. He may give up when land is just over the horizon. He may swamp and drown coming over the reef.

In the  Breakthroughs High School Program, we use the realationship of a mentor in a follow-up program to reinforce the changes that were started at intensive camp. A mentor calls his/her youth at least two times a week and meets at least once each week. Both the mentor and youth meet in a large group once every two weeks. This lasts nine months to a year.

In the new Middle School Program, we use an after school club system.  The youths meet once a week after school is a small group and have a large group meeting once a month. School staff and mentors attend both weekly and monthly meetings.

Our Paddles

As any tradesman knows, your tools are everything. A Plains Indian was nothing without his horse. At Breakthroughs we add a multi-session in-depth anger management program to help youths control and work through their anger.

We also provide a ropes course. On the first day, the youth must clarify their goals and identify stumbling blocks. On the second day, climbing up, jumping, youth must face their fears, learn to trust others, learn teamwork, support and moving through fears. These tools are the paddles that power all canoes, great and small.

“Many of these students are at the end of their rope and are just a small step away from being expelled. (This is) an answer from heaven…like a dream come true.” Barbara Teruya, principal, Castle High School (Retired)   

The Canoe

Breakthroughs is not a panacea. It does not save everyone. There are many reasons for this. One is the family that teens must return to each night. What can we do if someone swamps the canoe each night? We can teach the youth to cope, to take a positive attitude, to be open, to practice restraint. But some families are more difficult than others.

To this end, we provide Parent/Guardian workshops to guide the parent on
how to support and communicate with their child more effectively. Professionals from Hawaii conduct these sessions.

Our client population

We serve High School youth (14-18), and Middle School Youth (13-14).  Most are  from lower income. Very few live full-time with both birth parents. All our participants must volunteer to participate, though some may begin grudgingly or with reservations. We currently serve youth from Kaneohe, Kailua and Kahuluu. They are referred to us by teachers, counselor or special programs. We have contacted all five private high schools serving the Windward area to see if they would like to refer students. We also have adopted a five year strategic plan that lays the groundwork toward a broadening of our program, first island wide then statewide over the long term.

“Schools don’t work for youth at risk because they focus on raising test
scores and improving behavior rather than on changing beliefs and
attitudes.” Sharon Lester, BYAR President.

In 1997-98, there were 22,653 suspensions from public high schools, an average of nearly three per hour, 24 hours per day, every day of the year.


“Expulsion is like a death sentence. Few recover from it. Once you leave school, the safety net is removed. You must motivate yourself to get a high school diploma which opens doors to trade schools, the military and college. If not, your future is minimum wage at an all-night service station, welfare, prison or alcoholism/addiction which leads to death, an insane asylum or jail and a lot of pain before that.” Larry Biggs, elementary school principal and BYAR board member

BYAR Goals

School grades: average increase one grade point
Class absenteeism: 40% decrease
Family relationships: improve .75 category steps as measured by asking
participants to rank their family relations from poor to fair to good.
Anger management and attitude: average improvement of 1.2 category steps in several criteria
Goal setting and achievement: 60% of the goals set by participants to be
achieved while in our program
Self-esteem: 90% of clients feel better or much better about themselves.
We want results!

We don’t just put our canoe in the water and wave good-bye

In order to truly help kids, we need to know what works. So, we get a clear idea of our potential participants beforehand. We know their suspension record, their criminal records, their school records. We establish further information through a questionnaire, both before and after the program. The questions touch school participation, problems with the law, relationships with family and household members, drug and alcohol usage and goals. We also create a control group of similar at risk youths, many who were referred to us but who declined to participate. We compare statistics on grade points, school attendance and graduation.


Our results show a marked improvement in school attendance, more than twice the graduation of the control group, higher grades, a 1.5 category step improvement in relationships with mothers and step-mothers, a 1.7 category step improvement in getting along with teachers, a 100% improvement in youths feeling better or much better about themselves, a drop from 66% to 17% in school suspensions and from 66% to 8% in arrests, a 100% increase in goal setting, a 25% rate in participants stopping all drugs and 25% more in those doing less drugs.

“If feel like a ‘fag’ sometimes...
(because now) I don’t fight. I just walk away.”

“I surprise myself. Before, I guess, I wasn’t a friendly person
and now I’m like Miss Aloha.”

“I see things differently... knowing I can succeed.”


Breakthroughs Staff
Larry Biggs has been involved in Breakthroughs for Youth and its predecessor
organization Hawaii Youth at Risk for 10 years as a Facilitator and Course Leader. He has been a teacher, High School Vice Principal, and an elementary school principal.

Sharon Lester has participated as a manager for numerous program cycles including Mentor Manager and Logistics Manager.

Melissa Zen has been a program facilitator and is a teacher/counselor with the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility. She has a Masters degree in counseling and guidance.

Joan Villanueva is the Mentor Manager, has been a mentor and has undergone
two extensive mentor trainings.

Kanani Kihara is the follow-through Coordinator and is a high school counselor at Castle High school in Windward Oahu.

Clinton Terrell, the Executive Director, has been a course leader in the program and has provided the course internationally.  He has recently come to Hawaii to join the Breakthroughs team here.


Factoid
Breakthroughs for Youth at Risk was formed in July 1994 by volunteers of Hawaii Youth at Risk, which folded in May, 1994 due to lack of funds. It has just completed a cycle for four High schools in the Windward Oahu District (Castle HS, Kaleheo HS, Kailua HS, and Olomana) and a cycle for the students of Kailua Middle school.  Of the High School group 36 youth that started, 34 completed the program in January 2005.  We are presently collecting data and working on the final report for the Middle school group.  

Quote:
“Our high schools don’t have enough money, time, counselors or will to do this job, and if nothing is done, then these children of dysfunctional families will go on to have more dysfunctional children of their own, because the cycle is not broken, and it is not just their problem. It is all our problem.” Nick Kaars, BYAR board member.