Smith, 15, has been looking after horses at Shining Hope Farms in north Charlotte for four months. On a recent weekday, he was learning how to ride one.
Being around the farm is a new experience for him — it’s one he’s enjoying.
“I never had an opportunity to clean horses and ride by myself. Now, I’m learning something new as I’m getting older. I want to see new things and become a better person because, last time, I wasn’t a better person,” Smith said.
WFAE isn’t using Smith’s first name since he’s a juvenile. He’s part of the Mecklenburg County Youth Justice Program, which is run by the national group Youth Advocate Programs. YAP also runs violence interrupter programs in two Charlotte neighborhoods.
Juvenile crime spiked last year in Charlotte with more than 3,000 arrests, and it has continued to rise this year. Most kids who are arrested don’t go to a detention center. Many are assigned to programs that aim to stop them from getting in trouble with the law.
YAP’s program is focused on building relationships and exposing kids to new experiences. The court refers youth to the program for offenses that include thefts from stores, stealing cars, assault and gun charges.
In Mecklenburg County, at least 845 juveniles in the 2022-23 fiscal year were diverted from the court system into programs like these, while 288 were placed in detention.
Smith doesn’t say why he was arrested, but said he was caught up in the wrong crowd.
“The people I was around were just being in the streets, not doing nothing with their lives. Just running around being bad — taking people’s cars, shooting at people’s houses, and all that,” Smith said.
Smith has developed new relationships at the farm, and the program has provided him with a mentor. He said he’s now surrounded by people who want to help him grow as a person.
Hope Knuckles-Perks, who directs the youth justice program, says helping around the farm and riding horses is a form of therapy that boosts kids’ self-esteem. She’s also connected kids to photography and tattooing classes.
“When we expose them to different things, things they’ve never been exposed to, and show them there is a different way to live life, and there are other opportunities other than the ones we choose in the streets, it makes a difference,” Knuckles-Perks said.
