DJS's Thrive Academy lifts youth up and out of the juvenile justice system

By Sheilah Kast,

Melissa Gerr

Published September 11, 2024 at 10:42 AM EDT

Maryland Department of Juvenile Services Secretary Vinny Schiraldi (C) speaks to Thrive participants along with (L) Corey Barnes, Director of Operations for We Our Us and Thrive Life Coach Brandon Wilson (R). Photo: DJS

Juvenile crime overall has declined. But to change the course of the young people caught up in gun violence -- either as victims or perpetrators -- Thrive Academy surrounds them with support -- life coaches who help them figure things out. We talk with Pastor Ebony Harvin and Bilal Rahman, two life coaches for Thrive, and with Secretary Vincent Schiraldi, the head of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.

Links: Thrive Academy, We Our Us, Thrive Academy Life Coach application.

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Sheilah Kast

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.

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Melissa Gerr

Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'

See stories by Melissa Gerr