A premise of support groups is that people who share a common problem can help each other, despite countless other differences.
Juvenile offenders and military veterans might seem very different, but may share common denominators.
Job Point's Civic Youth Corps is designed to link participants from those two groups.
"We're a lot alike," said Faaron Stansberry, a U.S. Army veteran. "Some of us have drinking, drugs and legal issues, too. We're all coming from ruts in our lives."
Xzayvyoughn Shackelford, an 18-year-old high school dropout and father of two children, said: "I sat in jail for two weeks and realized the path I was heading down. When I got out I had to change for my family."
The Civic Youth Corps stations veterans along the path of change for juvenile participants.
The program includes working toward GED certificates, 430 hours of community service, and, eventually, employment.
The corps is funded through a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. It is open to people age 18-21 involved in the justice system in the past year or foster youth who were juvenile offenders before age 17.
Stansberry explained some veterans who finish military service battle problems, including substance abuse, and "just got lost along the way." He believes the veterans have much to offer and share with the program's youth.
The Civic Youth Corps, and similar programs, offer much potential, but they deserve to be monitored to gauge their effectiveness.
When they work, they work wonders not only for an individual, but for society.
A criminal offender who ends up in prison cheats himself and is a drain on public resources, whereas a contributor to a community enjoys a sense of self-worth and is a worthy asset to the people he touches.