A DuPage colleague who works with the boys at St Charles, many of whom have had hard lives and few chances, says:
"My work on juvenile justice issues takes me the "youth centers" in Illinois, which are the state's juvenile prisons operated by the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. Governor Quinn appointed Arthur Bishop in late 2010 to reform these facilities and ensure that they are safe, humane and rehabilitative. We have a long way to go as a state, but tremendous progress is being made.
One of these youth centers is in St. Charles. It houses about 330 boys with an average age of 16. These boys have been sentenced as juveniles and can stay at IDJJ up to age 21, depending on their histories, progress and needs. While some of them have made serious mistakes, others are there primarily because of unmet mental health, substance abuse, education, family and trauma needs. All of them will return to our communities, and all of them deserve to know that they aren't forgotten over the holidays.
Because this facility is so close to DuPage County, I hope that our friends and colleagues might be interested in the St. Charles facility's "wish list" for the holidays, which is below. If any fabulous DuPage Dems would like to contribute to the facility and the boys and families it serves, we will happily pick up itemsat the office and deliver the items to the facility by December 19th with recognition to the DuPage Democrats. Hope this finds you well!
Thanks for considering this request!" LJ
WISH LIST Puzzles
Coloring books and toddler books for little children during family
visits; gives them something to do
Washable color markers
Color Pencils
Gift Cards for emergency items so we don't have to wait on Springfield
authorization to release funds (i.e. Wal-Mart, Target, Jewel-Osco,
Visa Gift Cards, ...)
Games (Checkers & Chess, UNO Cards, Dominos, Battleship, ....)
PG13 Movies
Xbox 360 Video Games
Basketballs & Basketball Nets
Poster Board - Color Paper
White socks
Packaged Snacks (i.e. candy bars, Hostess products, chips, ...)
Christmas Cards
Christmas Wrapping Paper
Christmas Lights & Decorations
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