Jake: Going for Goals

Jake* is 13 years old, speaks Portuguese and English, and aspires to be a professional soccer player. He is a remarkably mature and responsible boy and had never been involved with the juvenile justice system prior to last year. He was highly motivated to do whatever he needed to do in order to get his life back on track. On a sweltering day in August, after learning that he had been referred to ACS for treatment, he rode his bike 11 miles to our office, just to ensure that we had his new phone number.

The incident that brought him before the Juvenile Court occurred in his school cafeteria. During lunch, a female Caucasian student was poking him and antagonizing him. (The interaction was captured on the cafeteria video camera.) When the other student approached him from behind and grabbed his lunch, he was startled and whirled around to confront her. In doing so, he appeared to inadvertently strike her. Assault charges were subsequently filed against Jake.

Jake was referred to ACS through the District Attorney’s Diversion Program upon receiving his charges. He was presented with a contract that outlined the conditions of his diversion. If he met the conditions, his charges would be dropped. One of the conditions of his contract was to participate in ACS’s Group Treatment program, THRIVE. Jake enrolled in THRIVE and attended weekly sessions for five months.

Jake had many adult responsibilities, including a weekend job and contributing to household bills. In treatment sessions, he shared the significant stress and shame associated with being court-involved and the day-to-day challenges he faced at home. He talked openly and worked with his clinician to build his repertoire of healthy coping strategies and rebuild his self-esteem and hope for his future.

Earlier this year, Jake’s court case was officially closed after he successfully met all of the conditions of his diversion contract. His charges were cleared from his record. At his last session, he thanked his clinician for helping him through such a difficult time.

*To protect confidentiality, ACS does not use the names, photos, or identifying features of our clients.