PEI Kids STRIVE Program

The STRIVE Program is an extension of the Juvenile Offenders Outreach Program (JOOP). STRIVE has been specifically designed to meet the needs of JOOP graduates from Mercer County who have demonstrated during their participation in the program that they want to turn their lives around. These adolescents have successfully completed all of the program requirements of JOOP and exemplify the willingness and drive to continue their development of a promising future.

The STRIVE Program will work with adolescents who are currently enrolled in school and want to improve their academic standing as well as become working professionals. These adolescents will work toward obtaining employment as well as improving their attendance in school and improve their overall academic status. They will work on the everyday life skills that are needed to survive in this rapidly changing world. These adolescents will work towards becoming an integral part of society. With the help of the STRIVE Program, they will continue to work on becoming productive members of the community. They will have the potential to develop into the strong independent minded individuals they envision themselves becoming.

PEI Kids believes that for some of these youngsters this program could be just the beginning, the proverbial launching pad, for a far more positive future. We liken it to JOOP showing them a doorway and the next step, STRIVE, helping them through the doorway into new experiences and personal growth that, otherwise, they may never know. The STRIVE program will help these participants to continue to improve themselves, their lives and their futures. The program will help them understand their weaknesses and develop their strengths. It will provide participants with positive adult role models and help them recognize that they have abilities. It will help them remain uninvolved with juvenile justice.

To learn more about STRIVE, call Barrett Young at 609-695-3739.