Humboldt County Juvenile Services leads charge for at-risk youth support
The new Transitional Living Center at Humboldt County Juvenile Hall is the first of its kind in the state of Nevada and is officially open as of its grand opening on Oct. 17.
Director of Juvenile Services, Pauline Salla, was excited to announce the strides that Humboldt County has made to support at-risk youth in the community through the opening of this facility.
The Transitional Living Center will offer an alternative living situation for youth that may not have a stable home environment and need a more secure and structured place to learn life skills with responsible adults looking after them. The home ultimately allows for both male and female teens to stay in the community when going through programs and treatment, which has been shown to be less disruptive to progress. Youth can also live in the facility after incarceration to continue to use recovery resources.
“Our goal is to operate like it’s a home environment. As we grow up in our homes we get to practice our life skills,” said Salla at the opening.
With six fully-furnished rooms, the Center will allow for teens to go to and from the Center for school, work and other activities, but ultimately have a safe and healthy environment in which to practice life skills and complete programs or take advantage of other services in the community.
“The idea here is to really help them transition into adulthood and be successful in life,” said Sixth Judicial District Court Judge, Michael Montero.
Because there are not as many services available in the rural parts of Nevada, it can be hard to keep at-risk youth in the community, connected to people they love and close to those who are likely to encourage them, which is fundamental in improving their lives. Taking a step like this, which has taken many years of hard work, is a major success for Humboldt County.
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Captain, Sean Wilkin, explained that the lack of resources in the rural communities often leaves the community and law enforcement “trying to bridge gaps for services that just aren’t there.”
“This is going to be an opportunity for us and the juvenile justice world to work with our at-risk youth in hopes of keeping them in our community,” said Sixth Judicial District Court Judge, Michael Montero.
Salla explained that the structure of the facility will allow the youth the freedom to learn life skills, and will also ensure there is responsible supervision of staff at all times. An incentive program will also be put in place to allow the youth more access to freedoms based on their ability to make good choices.
“The more prosocial choices they make, the more privileges they get,” explained Salla.
This type of facility is the first of its kind in the state of Nevada, according to Judge Montero, and will help many of the teens and adolescents that are struggling to make good choices because they will have a structured environment in which to make mistakes and learn to correct them.
Humboldt County Commissioner, Jim French, attended the opening and spoke about the significance of life after incarceration, and how the environment that a teen returns to can affect the outcome of the rest of their life.
“If you go from being incarcerated to homeless, you’re going to go back to being incarcerated,” said the Commissioner French.
Many more of those invested in support for at-risk youth were also present for the opening, including: Mayor of Winnemucca, Rich Stone, Humboldt County District Attorney, Mike McDonald, Winnemucca Police Department Captain, Chad Farstveet, and Humboldt County Manager, Dave Mendiola and other officials from Winnemucca, Humboldt County, and surrounding counties.
“We’re going to be better at solving problems working together,” said Judge Montero.
Salla and Judge Montero both spoke of future plans, which include to add a kitchen on the building where youth can learn to cook their own meals and learn the budgeting associated with getting their own groceries, and even tiny homes on the back of the Juvenile Services property where young adults can continue to live and access services with the help of stable and caring adults.
“We’re not stopping here—our kids deserve that—this is just the first step,” said Salla.