There are not many times when the word “cool” and a place like “juvenile hall” are paired together. In fact, imprisonment remains one of those cringing topics, causing many people to give a look of exasperation because they know of the importance of it and yet, have little to say in exactly how to solve the problem. Greggory Moore’s piece beautifully addressed life post-incarceration, but what about the men — particularly the juveniles — while they’re inside?
The County of Los Angeles is hopeful that conversation with peers they admire will do the trick, as rap star and member of the renown Wu Tan Clan, Rza, will join the Los Angeles County Probation Department to host a Father’s Day celebration for detained male minors at Central Juvenile Hall. The hope, for both the star and county officials, is to educate the young men about their roles, responsibilities, and expectations as fathers upon their release from juvenile hall.
The program is co-sponsored by the Center for the Empowerment of Families (CEF), a non-profit organization that has been conducting life-skills courses in the juvenile halls since 2008. Saturday’s event will be the second year that fatherhood classes will be taught during Father’s Day to the young fathers at Central Juvenile Hall who care about their children, but may not have had positive role models to guide them.
The program will include games such as “Daddy Diaper Duty,” and how to quickly dress a baby. All games will be performed on baby dolls as a fun, competitive approach to teaching the young men how to properly handle, care for, and interact with babies. Winners will receive books on parenting and writing journals.
After the games, the teen dads will participate in a more intimate workshop, taught by CEF facilitators, to learn more about their commitments to their children and how to best get along with their children’s mothers.
The event will take place this Saturday from 10:00am to 12:00pm, at the Central Juvenile Hall located at 1605 Eastlake Avenue in Los Angeles.