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REGULAR MEETING March 26, 2018
<br /> my services. I do home maintenance and janitorial work. I also feel this needs to happen in River
<br /> Park and I appreciate you listening to all of these people.
<br /> Megan Bright, 55726 Black Pheasant Drive, Osceola, IN, stated, While I am living in Osceola, I
<br /> have lived in South Bend most of my life. I do attend South Bend City Church and I also worked
<br /> at the South Bend juvenile correctional facility for four (4) years. I have worked at other places
<br /> with youth like Oaklawn and Madison Center. Particularly with my experience at South Bend
<br /> Juvenile Correctional Facility,I can express how sad it was when somebody was being transitioned
<br /> out of the program after doing all the hard work that it took to get that far and not being able to
<br /> find a placement or having to look at a homeless shelter. I do want to echo the sentiments that
<br /> everybody has said and I hope you support this idea because I think this would be a great place for
<br /> these boys.
<br /> Adela Camacho, 405 N. Mechanic Street, Berrien Springs, MI, stated, I'd like to start off with
<br /> scripture. Proverb twenty-two six (22:6) says `Train up the child of the way he should go. Even
<br /> when he is old, he will not depart from it.' I'd like to ask you that if you saw a child drowning in
<br /> water, would you allow him to drown or would you save him? Rite of Passage is that life ring that
<br /> we can throw to them. This group-home will be as well. These student-athletes have gone through
<br /> a lot and I can pretty much understand what they go through. I have nieces and nephews that come
<br /> from adoption centers and, as a result, my brother and his wife ended up adopting six (6)to seven
<br /> (7) children that came from homes that were broken. These student-athletes have worked so hard
<br /> to grow and learn the basics of what it takes to drive a life of success. I believe education is the
<br /> foundation of everything. Education in the home is the most important because when you educate
<br /> a child in the home,you teach them respect,work ethic,and that there is a giver that is much higher
<br /> than them that they can depend on when they are at their lowest. They will become individuals
<br /> that will become someone great. I feel that shutting the door on this opportunity is shutting the
<br /> door on them. Give them an opportunity.
<br /> Amy Sturma, 1000 S.Michigan Street, South Bend,IN, stated,I live in Elkhart but I work in South
<br /> Bend. I was actually a resident of the River Park Neighborhood for many years. I'm currently a
<br /> therapist at DePaul Academy Rite of Passage and I have the great opportunity to help these young
<br /> men to become more. Our motto is `improving the lives of youth' and that is what we do. The sad
<br /> part is though, a lot of time these kids come to us and their issues are dealing with abandonment
<br /> and trauma. We work to try and heal those wounds. A lot of times we have to send them back to
<br /> the same broken homes. The sad and hard part of this job is that I help heal this person and then
<br /> we have to send them right back and those same wounds are opened again. This opportunity we
<br /> are asking for is very much so needed. The risk is low for these kids. We call our kids student-
<br /> athletes. We teach them respect, the fifteen (15) character traits, and we try to build a foundation
<br /> that they haven't had. We can make a brighter future because kids are our future. If we don't
<br /> continue instilling hope into them,we will be neglecting them. How you acknowledged Riley was
<br /> incredible. Acknowledge these young men tonight by approving this Woodford Home.
<br /> Rochelle Day, 17625 Juday Lake Drive North, South Bend, IN, stated, I've had the opportunity to
<br /> serve and work with these young men. If you need an understanding of what they're like,just turn
<br /> to your own son, grandson,nephew, and they are a typical teenager. But,they do have respect and
<br /> an immense sense of character bestowed on them when they are in DePaul Academy. Abraham
<br /> Lincoln said, `I am a success today because of a friend who believed in me, and I didn't have the
<br /> heart to let him down.' I think these young men need friends and I have no doubt they won't let
<br /> you down.
<br /> Isaac Hunt, 1805 Western Avenue, South Bend, IN, stated, I work with the Group Violence
<br /> Intervention for the City of South Bend. I drive around the country doing different speaking
<br /> engagements and trying to find best practices. One (1) of the things that kept coming up is Rite of
<br /> Passage. The metrics and the way they perform outperforms any other home or organization that
<br /> is like this. I'm ecstatic they are here. Anything I can do to help them, I will. They provide a wrap-
<br /> around service for these young men. They offer an opportunity for rehabilitation. Where we put
<br /> our money at shows where our priorities are. We need to invest in our children in this community.
<br /> This is an opportunity to help them become better people and make our community safer at the
<br /> same time. They come out as gentlemen.
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