Six youths were honored this week for completing life skills training and goal-setting exercises through the City of Danville’s Project Imagine program—an initiative designed to steer young people away from gang involvement and community violence.
这是第34个班级完成培训过程，自2018年“想象计划”启动以来，成功参与培训的总人数达到202人。 The milestone reflects the city’s ongoing commitment to providing youth with meaningful alternatives and a positive path forward.
The youths were Tyliek Betts, Jaylen Brown, Destiny Cobbs, Jay'Den Fitz, Cha'honesty Hodge and Taiwan Waddell.
“想象计划”为参与者提供了个人成长的基本工具，包括指导、目标设定，以及使用凯西生活技能和克利夫顿优势工具进行的基于优势的评估。 这些资源可以帮助年轻人制定建设性的目标，如避免与执法部门接触，提高学习成绩，从学校毕业，进入劳动力市场。
该计划的一个主要特点是为每个参与者分配一名专门的外展工作人员。 这些导师至少会参与一年，提供课堂之外的指导和支持，帮助学生应对现实生活中的挑战和机遇。
在仪式上，城市副经理Earl Reynolds向大家提供了衷心的建议，将人生的决定比作道路的弯路。
“Have you ever been traveling and seen signs about detours? That means the road that you are traveling on is blocked, and you are being directed to another way to get to where you want to go,” Reynolds said. “Think about life. I don’t care who you are, how much education you have—life is full of detours. The question is, how are you going to handle that?”
雷诺兹鼓励年轻人听取那些经历过这些弯路的人的意见，并通过它们变得更加坚强。
“You’ve made a good decision about getting hooked up with these guys (Project Imagine mentors). They’ve been there, and done that. They can tell you how it is when you ignore the detour sign, get turned over, get right-sided and get back down the road,” he said. “It teaches you what not to do the next time. 这些迹象很重要。 它们是有效的。 他们很有帮助。 So pay attention to them.”
在回顾自己的人生道路时，雷诺兹分享了导师的指导是如何帮助他回到正轨的。
“Before I got to Fayetteville State, I almost didn’t make it there. 但是有一些好人和我交谈，让我回到了正确的道路上。 It wasn’t easy,” he said. “You recover by having good people giving you good advice—and more importantly, by listening. You can have all the good advice in the world, but it is not going to help you if you don’t listen.”
最后，他发出了团结和鼓励的信息：
“We are all called to help one another, encourage one another, and love one another. 当我们做这些事情时，我们都受益。 我们都生活在这个世界上。 粘在一起。 注意这些迹象。 祝你生活愉快。 There is a lot out there for you to enjoy and take advantage of.”
Project Imagine has become a cornerstone of Danville’s youth violence prevention efforts, drawing attention and praise across the Virginia and nationally for its effectiveness in transforming lives and strengthening communities.
For more information about Project Imagine, contact its office at (434) 857-3354 or visit its 网站.