The regular Space Center Rotary Meeting for Monday, May 21st, will take place at South Shore Harbor starting at 11:30am. This is 30 minutes earlier than normal, and is in support of the CCISD Awards Ceremony. We are looking forward to seeing you there.

John Swartwout introduced Alison Putman, LCSW Executive Director of Resolve It, a local non-profit, based in Kemah, Texas designed to reduce juvenile delinquency, school drop- out.  Its mission is to provide intervention and support to at-risk youth, while encouraging the development of personal accountability.  Putman provide a brief history of the organization which she established in 1999 and for 5 years was the only person in the organization.  She wrote 28 competitive federal and state grants, 22 foundation grants since 2003, and received $2.6 million in grants funds over 15 years.  Now Resolve It has 4 therapists, a grant manager, financial coordinator, all serving 250-300 kids every year.  There is almost no staff turnover because staff is professional women who work part time working out her own schedule.  Resolve It provides serves in four areas: Elementary Prevention Programs, Anger Control Training, Girls Circle, and Moral Development Training.  She noted that it costs society from $188,086 to $297,188 for a high school dropout which is prevention opportunities for Resolve It.  Much of the work has been involved with delinquency prevention with boys in the juvenile justice system.  The initial focus was on anger management programs but soon found that the basic problem was lack of moral character.  This resulted in launching Moral Development Training with both boys and girls.  This program not only uses group therapy but Equine Assisted Psychotherapy.  Resolve It has programs both in Harris and Galveston Counties.  It began to focus more on Galveston county working with girls in the Juvenile justice system.  Escaping abuse at home is the number one reason a girl lands in juvenile detention and drugs is number 2.  Child victims are more likely to become teen mothers, runaways, use drugs and become child abusers.  The first VOCA grant was awarded in September 2011 to provide therapy services to primary and secondary child victims.

We at Resolve It like to think like Benjamin Franklin and invest in this “ounce of prevention”, rather than in a pound of cure. Resolve It’s programs offer kids the tools to help them turn their lives around before they are in too deep. I am no longer willing to “miss another prevention opportunity”.      What about you? Where can you make a difference in the life of a young person standing at the Gateway to the rest of their life?