Deborah Tobola
Join Us On Facebook
|
|
|
More Than Pizza
by Deborah Tobola
Poetic Justice Project recently held performances of WHAT IF, created and performed by our students at Los Prietos Boys Camp in Santa Barbara. Before the show in Santa Maria, I ordered pizza for the cast and crew — to be delivered. Little did I know that we'd be receiving more than pizza that night.
When the young man delivering the pizza found out what event was taking place, his face lit up. "I was at Los Prietos five years ago!" he said, with pride in his voice. It might strike you as odd that a person would be proud of time served at a juvenile detention camp, but it didn't surprise me.
Los Prietos Boys Camp and Boys Academy, serving boys from 13 to 18, is operated by Santa Barbara County Probation. The camp has an excellent reputation for providing opportunities for boys that can change their lives forever.
Located in the beautiful Los Padres National Forest, the camp has its own high school and offers vocational training, counseling, substance abuse education, religious and spiritual expression, and community work service. Probation staff who work at Los Prietos are dedicated to guiding the boys into a productive future.
While statewide recidivism rates hover around 70%, that's roughly the percentage of Los Prietos graduates who won't return to custody. Places like Los Prietos are important because they save money. For many people, one incarceration leads to another . . . often life becomes a revolving door of re-incarceration.
But more important than cost savings is the value of a boy's future. Who could put a price on that? So our pizza man was justifiably proud of his life-changing time served at Los Prietos. I must admit that I was incredulous at this "coincidence." (Who's writing this script?) I gave him two free tickets to our show.
He returned an hour later with his fiancée. They watched intently as the boys read poems and performed scenes they'd written, sang songs and had the audience howling with laughter at their improvisational comedy.
After the performance, there was an audience talkback. The pizza deliveryman introduced himself and talked about his time at Los Prietos and how much it had helped him. He offered his own life as proof that change is possible. He told the boys that he's been steadily employed since leaving the camp and is about to get married. He encouraged our young actors to make the most of their time at camp and to invest in their own dreams.
We couldn't have scripted it better. A pizza man delivering hearty wafers of hope and redemption. Talk about the magic of theatre!
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Image on Banner by Teri Sohl |
