‘Worth every penny’: Former youth detention center is now a free youth summer camp

CHARLOTTE — The former youth detention center in north Charlotte is now home to a summer camp.

The rooms that once housed young people charged with crimes have been overhauled into unique classrooms, each designed for learning a new skill.

Camp attendees can learn how to DJ and graphic design among other hobbies.

Mecklenburg County deputies use their own hobbies to shape the curriculum, and students have responded positively to the change of scenery.

“I just thought it would be fun and I am loving the fact that I am doing it,” said Anthony Blair, one of the students.

A national study found that kids who are detained are 13 percent less likely to graduate high school and 23 percent more likely to go to jail or prison as an adult.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden told Channel 9′s Anthony Kustura the key is to start early.

“We hope that we connect with them and so we don’t see them in another setting here at the sheriff’s office,” McFadden said.

Each camper is part of a mentorship program. For three days a week, deputies pick up their students for camp.

And there’s no cost to families, thanks to private donations and a few hundred dollars from the sheriff’s budget.

“It is worth every single penny, and if we have to come out of our pockets to do it again we will,” explained McFadden.

The program ends in August.

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