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James Yant (board member) and Michael Ransaw (executive director) came up with an organization titled Youth Recovery Services, Inc. This organization began in September based upon the core idea that teens who enter into the prison system end up going in and out of it for the remaining years of their lives, in order to stop this cycle Yant and Ransaw came up with Youth Recovery Services, Inc. Their aim was to be able to show teenagers that they are cared for and at the same time provide them with hope and a means to gain self-confidence, ultimately leading to attaining their own skills to attend college, to gain a successful job, and become financially stable. They want to focus on making these teens understand that drugs and hostility is not the answer to anything. They also want to make teens proud of their intellectual abilities.
Yant is a former highschool and college teacher who is at present responsible for the J.C. Yant Insurance Agency found in Spring Hill, as well as candidate for the Hernando County School Board. "We can't save all of them, but we've got to try. We have to show them someone cares," says Yant. The juvenile court system and other agencies refer teenagers to the Youth Recovery Services. The organization actually expected to begin its program with around 25 teenagers but already 50 teens have signed up even before the official start. This is just an example of how a program of this nature is needed in Hernando County, mentions Yant. For the program’s official start, volunteers have been screened and applications for grants have been made. The actual date for the start has not been set but Yant has said that the program will be open until 6:30pm after school at 875 Kennedy Blvd. The building where the program will be held is actually owned by Yant. He had it renovated and donated it for the organization’s use. Right next door to this building is the Kennedy Park Recreation Building which Hernando County has decided to let Youth Recovery Services use for free due to the number of teenagers who have signed up for the program.
The County Commission was awarded with certificates of appreciation by Ransaw because of their caring cooperation.
Plans for the inclusion of parents and grandparents in the program, as well as teaching subjects on finances and more, have been made. "I see the potential. I think this can be a model program - not just for the state of Florida, but the whole United States," said Yant. |
