Lorain Police Department’s Youth Leadership Academy reaches area youth – Morning Journal

Lorain Fire Lt. Dan McBennett, Men of Courage President Anthony Jones, Church of the Open Door Family Ministry Director Joe Gonzales, Lorain Police Officer Joe Ferenzi and Lorain Police Lt. Jacob Morris at the Lorain Police Department’s Youth Leadership Academy on May 18 . (Heather Chapin – The Morning Journal)

A program hosted by the Lorain Police Department, the Men of Courage and the Church of the Open Door called “The Lorain Police Department’s Youth Leadership Academy” was a success as it completed its second year on May 18th.

The Youth Leadership Academy is a six-week program that enables youth to learn valuable leadership skills in a variety of areas by being mentored by community leaders such as Anthony Jones, founder of Men of Courage, police officers, firefighters, and church leaders.

The event was held at the Church Open House at 1121 Tower Blvd. in Lorain.

This year the program included 18 participants, and last year there were 12 youth, some of whom were referred through the Lorain County Domestic Court’s Juvenile Assessment Center and are considered “at risk” of committing crimes in the future, according to Lorain police lieutenants . Jacob Morris.

Jones founded the nonprofit Men of Courage alongside his full-time job, he said.

As he became more involved, Jones gave up his career and began working full-time with the Men of Courage.

“I had to follow my heart,” Jones said, adding that he was proud that the group worked with the Lorain Police Department and the church to make the mentoring program available to area youth.

Throughout the year, Jones and volunteers who work with the organization minister to at-risk youth not only at church, but also through visits to the Lorain County Detention Center.

The program includes regular field trips for the youth to places like the Cleveland Aquarium, a museum in Detroit and many other locations, Jones said.

“It keeps them off the streets,” he said.

As part of the mentoring efforts, volunteers talk to youth about their decisions.

The volunteers ask questions about their decisions and ask them to imagine how their families are affected by their decisions and how their decisions affect their future, Jones added.

“That’s our whole mission,” he said.

The Lorain Police Department’s Youth Leadership Academy is made possible by a Department of Justice grant that provides manpower, sports equipment and more for the program, Morris said.

Lorain police officers visit the church as part of the mentoring program and interact with the youth in a “non-threatening, no-pressure” interaction.

“I’m human too,” Morris said of what officers teach the teens during their visits.

The program is part of a crime prevention effort, Morris added.