Think America, not just Scotland, was the subtle message to residents of the sleepy community at the southern most tip of St. Mary’s at a largely attended public forum Wednesday evening.

Gen. Earl Schwartz, Adjutant General of D.C. National Guards, was present at the meeting to allay the community’s fears regarding Youth Challenge Academy Program that started at Camp Riverview in Scotland January 11. The youth program is authorized and funded through the Department of Defense and administered by the National Guard Bureau.

St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners hosted the forum at the Ridge Volunteer Fire Department; Commissioner President Jack Russell (D. St. George Island) facilitated the event.

 
The crowded public forum at Ridge Volunteer Fire Department

“They are our children,” said Dr. Kathleen O’Brien, chair of the Walden Sierra, one of the most successful non-profits in Southern Maryland, as she tried to calm the Scotland residents. Some residents had been losing sleep for more than a month now, since 37 African-American juveniles arrived in their locality January 11. “They are not different from our children,” O’Brien assured.

The program brought to Scotland 22 males and 15 females languishing on the streets of the nation’s capital – which has one of the highest crime rates anywhere in the world – to Camp Riverview, a 217 acre tract of land owned by Washington D.C.’s Recreation and Parks Department.

The 37 juveniles will undergo a rigorous five-month training at the site, under the watchful eyes of 32 staff, that would ultimately give them a chance to a better life and a GED certificate. After the camp, they will return to their communities for 12 months of mentoring.

“These kids are not criminals,” said project director Gordon Sampson. “Two of them want to become policemen, five of them want to become firemen, and one of them wants to become a teacher,” he said.

“They are all African-Americans,” Sampson later told The Bay Net.

Residents who raised questions about safety and security issues, among others were Marty Cribb, George “Junior” Trossbach, Greg Haven, and Minnie Russell.

Beverley Read, a Caucasian woman who now lives in St. Mary’s, said the program changed the life of her son when the family was in crisis in Georgia. “This was the best thing that ever happened to him,” Read told The Bay Net.

“When I saw my son for the first time after he had been there for eight weeks, I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that his decision to go to the Youth Challenge Academy was the best decision of his life,” Read testified at the gathering. “He looked like a different person.”

Sharon Narcisse, was a member of a street drug gang in D.C. as a teenager. Speaking to The Bay Net Narcisse said “To me it seems each of them [the Riverview Camp juveniles] is trying to do some positive thing and has left their comfort zone.”

Narcisse, who is now a reporter with Our Town in Johnstown, Pa., felt rather than succumb to society the youngsters in the challenge program are trying to overcome the stigma. “They want to capitalize on the adversity and programs like this one offers them an opportunity,” she