Derek Cecil is accustomed to dishing out misery. “Come on ladies, lets focus,” said Cecil. “You should be acting as a team. Instead, I see 12 individuals.”
Hours past sunset at Sky Tavern resort on Mount Rose, Progressive Steps boot camp participants struggled through pushups as the drill instructor barked out orders.
“Misery teaches them there’s consequences for their actions,” he said. “But, when they finish without quitting it teaches them self-confidence.” Misery is a term the Army-trained Reno Police Sergeant uses to describe his version of discipline.
Cecil admitted he is able to get a response out of the girls that female drill instructors can’t. But, Cecil wasn’t always convinced of the boot camp’s impact on the girl’s lives.
“At first, I thought this boot camp was a joke,” said Cecil. “But now I have complete confidence in this program.”
The boot camp is a collaborative effort on the parts of several community agencies. The Reno police Community Affairs Division brought together the different agencies and designed the program to teach a variety of like skills.
“I don’t want to reinvent any kin of wheel,” said Reno Police Officer Shannon Wiecking, Progressive Steps director. “These agencies are the experts in their respective fields. It’s great that they would want to be involved.”
Wiecking was responsible for the solicitation of funds to pay for the boot camp,. She estimated the cost for the male and female boot camps at $50,000, all to be paid for by grants and donations.
Elisa Erquiaga, of Truckee-Meadows Tomorrow, supplied the largest grant of $25,000. She said the community-based nonprofit organization is concerned with quality of life issues in the Reno area. The Auxiliary to the Washoe County Medical Society added $10,000, and the Reno-Sparks Realtors Association chipped in $4,000.
“In the future what I would like to do is get more of the business community involved with sponsoring internships of the boot camp graduates,” Wiecking said.
A Nation Institute of Justice report published in May 1996 by the U.S. Department of Justice recognized the lack of aftercare in several juvenile boot camps throughout the country. According to the report, the programs should utilize the community’s education and treatment resources to continue enforcement of the discipline and character instilled during boot camp. That’s why this years’ program will include a counseling mechanism in addition to the mentor program already in place.
LeeAnn Slate of Partners in Education will be working with the Northern Nevada Black Cultural Awareness Society to assist parents in dealing with their children’s frustrations after the conclusion of the camp. a yearlong mentor and aftercare counseling program is available for Progressive Steps Graduates.
“These girls know they have problems, but they just don’t have the resources to tackle them,” said Slate. “I’ve already seen a big change in just a few days. You can tell by the way their eyes shine.”
Adriana Bain of the Washoe county Juvenile Services warned parents no to placer unrealistic expectation on just the boot camp.
“You can’t just put a bandage on these kinds and send them home,” she said. “That’s why the aftercare is so important. One of the things that they will benefit from this program is the release of emotional baggage that they haven’t had before.”
Washoe county Juvenile services will provide staffing, background tracking, aftercare and referral services.
Members of the police and fire departments as well as community members and university students will act as mentors for the graduates of the Progressive Steps boot camp.
Sabrina Zabel, whose 13-year-old daughter, Tabatha, Attended the boot camp, understands the importance of the program. Last year, she tried to enroll her daughter in a mentor program. She knows she is not a bad parent, but admitted she needs help.
“The mentor program will e good for her because she’ll have an impartial person to talk to,” she said. “I would love for her to turn her life around. That would make me happy.”