Page 5 - Flathead Beacon // 9.17.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM
NEWS
Shareen Springer, executive director of the Center for Restorative Youth Justice, discusses the program. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
A Helping Hand and a Second Chance
SEPTEMBER 17, 2014 | 5
W•O•R•D•S of the Week
AN INDEX OF RECENT NEWSMAKERS
SHUTDOWN
Here we go again: lawmakers on Capitol Hill are working this week on preventing a federal government shut- down at the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30. A short-term funding bill has been intro- duced in the U.S. House and it’s likely to be voted on this week.
HOMECOMING
It’s homecoming week for Flathead High School. Come out to Main Street on Friday at 4 p.m. to cheer on students celebrating school pride. The valley’s other area schools are preparing for their own celebrations in the coming weeks.
WEATHER
Last week saw record low temperatures — 23 degrees in Kalispell on Sept. 12 — and now this week is expected to spike up to the 80s. Welcome to fall in the Flathead. The first official day of autumn is Sept. 22.
ENTREPRENEURS
This week marks the arrival of Glacier Startup Weekend, a three-day event devoted to business ideas and economic development. The event is at Flathead Valley Community College starting Sept. 19.
Since 2009, the Center for Restorative Youth Justice has helped nearly 1,000 youth in the Flathead Valley get back on the right track
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
A few years ago, when Raeanna Raines
was 13 years old, she broke into a house. She was eventually caught and charged in the youth court system and as part of her punishment, she completed community service through the Center for Restor- ative Youth Justice in Kalispell.
Four years later, Raines doesn’t su- garcoat it: She hated the program when she first arrived. Besides community ser- vice she was also given the opportunity to meet the victims of her crime.
“When I met the people whose house I broke into, it changed my whole perspec- tive on the program,” Raines said.
Shareen Springer, executive director at the center, said there are dozens of sto- ries just like Raines’. Since 2009, the cen- ter has helped 950 youth and more than 1,000 victims of crime. Today, the center works with about 250 to 300 kids a year. According to Springer, fewer than 10 per- cent of the young people who complete the program commit another crime and 95
See Justice PAGE 28
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