Art helps shape life skills at juvenile detention center

Karin Connelly, a tutor with Literacy Volunteers of Flathead County, goes to the Flathead County Juvenile Detention Center every week with cans of paint, egg cartons and brushes to work with three to five of the young inmates.

The faces change from session to session but her mission continues. Together, they are transforming cinderblock walls of an outdoor courtyard into colorful murals from drawings created in the winter months by their predecessors in juvenile detention.

Connelly, a professional artist and retired art teacher, doesn’t find the environment depressing — quite the contrary.

“It’s more fun than almost anything else I do,” she said. “It’s wonderful.”

Connelly’s work falls under the life skills section of Literacy Volunteers’ mission. Her work with the young offenders accomplishes something beyond teaching them the basics of drawing and painting within the lines.

“The first thing some of them say is ‘I can’t paint,’” Connelly said. “Then, they start painting and they’re doing something right.’”

During a recent session, she quickly mixed paint in the egg carton palettes, gathered brushes, then thrust them into the hands of two teenage boys and a girl. After a few minutes of collaboration, each of them began dabbing paint on to the whimsical creature drawings dubbed “new age cave art” by one officer.

Except for the uniformed officer standing at the back and reminding the youths where they may and may not stand, the scene looks like any other art class with the three students smiling and laughing as they collaborate with Connelly on color and brush strokes.

“We have no problems with behavior,” Connelly said. “Sometimes we have aesthetic problems. We have some interesting discussions on how things look. There’s always give and take. They make a lot of their own decisions.”

So far, paintings of moose, bears, birds, totem poles, birch trees and an odd purple polka dot snake have transformed two walls from cinderblock dreary to uplifting and cheery. Proud artists from past sessions such as Lizz, Evelyn and Justus signed their names near their contributions.

The three working on Thursday afternoon felt a similar joy in leaving their artistic mark on the mural. 

“I love painting,” said one young man creating a rusty red bear. “It’s my favorite thing to do.”

The other teenage boy said he never used to like art but now it’s his favorite program offered in juvenile detention. The young woman glowed as the instructor and others praised her strokes of color that brought a little bear to life.

According to Laurie Rebuck, chief juvenile detention officer, the young woman’s reaction sums up a major goal of having Literacy Volunteers work with the youthful offenders.

“It’s to have positive role models, people interacting with them in a positive way,” she said. “It’s life skills. It teaches them how to do things and follow directions.”

Rebuck said the youths look forward to the programs but must maintain good behavior to participate. Their own actions and interactions put them at levels one through four, the highest with the most privileges.

“We do have a rigid structure to our program,”  she said. “We have an officer who staffs this program to maintain control.”

Volunteers receive training both from Literacy Volunteers and the juvenile detention center prior to working with the youth in this program. According to Christine Hensleigh, director of Literacy Volunteers, people working at the youth detention program represent the agency’s biggest success story.

“That program has been going for 13 years,” she said. “People doing life-skill tutoring stay long-term and love it.”

 Hensleigh invites people to come to one of three initial orientation sessions scheduled Thursday, Sept. 9, at 10 a.m. or 5:30 p.m. or Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 5 p.m. at the main office at 35 Fourth Street West to learn about opportunities at this and other programs such as basic literacy and English as a second language.

She said volunteers need no special skills to get involved. Hensleigh said they just need to interact with others on a human level and believe people can change their lives .

“People say ‘I’m not a teacher,’” she said. “If you like to read a newspaper you can teach world events. If you raised successful kids, you can teach life skills.”

Hensleigh, who is a writer, started with the agency as a basic literacy tutor. She said placements reflect the strengths, interests and comfort level of the volunteer.

She has people who go out and read to seniors. Other people at youth detention teach budgeting, exercise, history and corrective thinking.

She recalled one person who merely went in and played games with young offenders.

“I was worried there wasn’t enough literacy focus,” she said. “But some kids, no adult has played games with them, teaching them to play by the rules and play fair. It’s a chance for learning and a profound need.”

 Hensleigh said the youth detention center model could work in so many other agencies. She said every young offender who participates walks away with positive experiences with adult volunteers.

She said she could place every new tutor she gets in existing or new programs.

“Right now we’re at the food bank distributing books to kids and adults,” she said. “We did a survey at the food bank and found out they all wanted life-skills classes. All of our programs have a reading element.”

Hensleigh described Literacy Volunteers’ core mission as improving lives through literacy. She said that volunteers of all ages make a flexible time commitment from once a month to six or more times a month.

Getting involved begins with the half-hour orientations offered Thursday and the following Wednesday. Once a volunteer chooses a program, he or she takes an intensive training in that area before diving into their new slot.

“I’m always amazed at the generosity of our volunteers with their time,” Hensleigh said.

  Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com