Think Creative - Issue 4

When Rosa Romero was asked to bring her two young grandsons before the government agency that over- sees juvenile offenders, she feared her family would be pulled apart. “I thought, ‘Dear God they’re going to take themaway fromme,’” she recalls. “I started praying silently and crying. But then someone pattedme on the back and toldme not to worry, that everything would be OK.” At themeeting, the family was instructed by a judge to go to Casa Alianza, a nonprofit organization that sup- ports juvenile rehabilitation and reentry into society. When they arrived, Romero sat nervously in the waiting roomwhile her grandsons Axel and Jordan spoke with Casa Alianza staff in another room. “I was praying and praying, ‘Please don’t take them,’” she says. “Then I was asked to come in, and they told me that we were going to do a one-year programat Casa Alianza. ‘But they’re not takingmy boys away?’ I asked. They said, ‘No, they’re going to come here for therapy and training on Saturdays. They’re good kids,’ they told me. ‘They just made amistake.’” Casa Alianza works with youth exiting the justice sys- temor who have been recommended for programming as an alternative to detention. It’s a resource hub where youth can come and receive services like counseling and job training. And for youth struggling with homeless- ness, it’s also a place to stay, with dormitories, a dining hall and 24/7 support for dozens of youngmen and women. Axel, 17, Jordan, 14, and their grandmother have been working with Casa Alianza since January, welcoming instructors and counselors into their home and visiting the organization’s facility in Tegucigalpa on Saturdays for workshops on topics like drugs, sex education and the importance of family. Casa Alianza receives support from the ProponteMás secondary violence prevention project, which is funded by USAID and implemented by Creative in five of Hon- duras’ most violent areas. “Before, nothing reallymattered tome. But now, I’ve learned how to value things, value time withmy family,” says Axel. “I see that the instructors care for us, they’re like a family. They don’t just tell us to do our homework, they worry about us, they’re involved, they come visit us at home, they ask us howwe are, they bring us what we need. It’s been a great experience.” As the brothers participate in their workshops, Romero is also taking parenting classes aimed at helping her create a home environment in which Axel and Jordan can thrive. The goal is to ensure that the two teenagers have the tools and support they need to become successful adults – and keep them from returning to the justice system. Finding alternatives to detention InHonduras, where a gang ecosystemdraws children and youth into engaging with crime and violence, minors are often both victims and perpetrators. From January to June 2018, nearly 600minors were pro- cessed through the juvenile justice system– some 200 of them convicted. But increasingly, the Honduran justice system is turn- ing away from sentencingminors to juvenile detention facilities – using so-called “alternativemeasures,” which 22 | Think Creative | Fall 2018 Reframing juvenile justice in Honduras By Evelyn Rupert and José Granados Freedom to move forward Photo by José Granados