Sucks but its true. All of them who I was able to build a relationship with return to Oakland and was connected to support services all did very well. Wed go to church because of the blind spots. My first week at YTS, I have a picture of my Dad who came to visit me. We were teenagers then. According to . Something started happening with me. My Dad said, you should never be involved in gangs, even though he was an outlaw biker. Id never seen that before. In this episode, David Sanchez, a 19-year old with few options in life, takes a job as a corrections officer at YTS, where the willingness to fight was the only experience needed. Reeve lives 20 minutes from YTS, also known as the Heman G. Stark Correctional Facility. I went to my room and got a toothbrush, put a razor blade on the toothbrush, and went to the laundry room where Sam was. A bullet went through the side of my face then hit my friend in the stomach, but the bullet didnt penetrate him. It was only a matter of time. I was one of the few of my friends that had a dad. After spending almost three decades inside California's toughest penitentiaries, Losno paroled from San Quentin this June as a changed man. But for the Chicanos, they were already in gangs. I cut a piece of plastic from a plate on my food tray and waited for the night guard. He told me whenever youre drunk, but you still want to drink, pour your beer out and put water in it. I was the drag shovel, meaning I was at the end of the line and I carried the medicine and the toilet paper in a backpack. The overhaul, however quickly it came, has been batted around for years as critics pushed for reform. I learned So much but got Negatively influenced because all there was is negativity going on around everywhere , Back then CYA was worser than Prison. Fresh war. Was placed with an extremely abusive foster mother who beat me and my foster brother black and blue on a daily basis, to get away from her we committed the above crime. This is prison. All it took were some disrespectful words, and boom. Due to the fact that I was locked up so many times, its hard for me. I was arrested for burglary and went to juvenile hall for the night. Ben Lomond Youth Conservation Camp. If you were a female you went to Ventura. I said to them, Ten years ago I was sitting in the same place you are sitting.. I no longer participate in self destructive behaviors/beliefs and have a career working as a substance use counselor at CRC Norco prison for Amity Foundation. Even the California prison system is managed by scoundrels. The California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), previously known as the California Youth Authority (CYA), . It felt like a prison. Funny thing about any institution is guys will try you. Youre not going to slice your wrist anymore, are you?. These changes to the system are a result of Senate Bill 823, which Gov. By Sunday morning, my Dad comes home barefoot. When a second boy at the Whittier State School died under almost identical circumstances a year later, public demand for change became difficult to ignore. I tell my Mom, dont even stop. Im gonna get jumped my first day here. This is where the nightmare begins.. Working the graveyard shift, he becomes an unlikely father-figure to wards older than himself, as the facility faces closure from mounting costs and corruption. Lord High School has a similar structure to other public schools, including: A principal, certified teachers, and other support staff. "J" is a prisoner in the largest juvenile-justice system in the world -- the California Youth Authority, a teen gulag with 9,000 inmates in 11 training schools, including the Nelles School, and . Mexicans vs whites. Rafael "Al" Losno Jr. came to prison during the era when phrases like "battle gyms and gladiator schools" were the norm. An oral history of stories from inside the California Youth Authority is documented by David Reeve (2019-2021). I heard footsteps and keys the officers carry a lot of keys. In the morning, thered be a piece of paper on your cell window. Much love to all my broken friends who cant be fixers. I couldnt believe it. I got those keys on my belt and felt, my god, how things have changed. Legislation transferred all three schools, placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Institutions in 1921 (ch. I would like to find out the answers for my two sons. I was telling the officer that I needed to go to medical, please, please. They cuffed me up and hung me by my feet in the shower. I spent enough time there to see it all. I wrote in the letter, I know what happened.. I was sent to YTS after I committed armed robbery in the summer of 1977 as a ward of the Los Angeles County foster care system. Gang affiliations defined enemies and allies on the street and in prison. CHICO The minor convicted of attacking a 71-year-old woman at the Chico High School track was sentenced to four years and six months in the Butte County Juvenile Hall on Thursday. I went on a good 6 year tour. A correctional facility. Snoop himself spent time inside California's notorious "Youth Authority" - the CYA - which in recent years has come under court order for abusing and failing . In a facility, the Captain, Youth Authority, is responsible for the administration of the security section and security-related activities of facilities where (1) the youthful offender population ranges between 300 and 800, and (2) the security staff is less than 100 employees. CYA has also . Jeff earned his high school diploma while incarcerated and once paroled, never returned. Despite having spent $5.2 billion on prison construction in the last decade, California still has one of the most overcrowded prison s. After discovering that his grandfather consulted for the prison, he tried to get a tour. You dont peter-gaze, you dont do anything. Some California Youth Authority juvenile prisons were known as "Gladiator Schools" by the wards who were incarcerated there. Wearing a yellow badge means youre over 18. I was trying to mind my own business. It was so hard working. Youre not a sissy, are you?I looked at him, Yeah, I can fight. Okay, youre hired.. People need to know. They sent in a psychiatrist who asked, How come youre not eating, Adrin?. My deceased husband was at the CYA in Chino in the early 1970s. When they took the handcuffs off, the guard slapped me real hard. You cant just have this tattoo; you have to earn it. It came back and around and stopped, then the shooting started. That means that person is shipping out to Fire Camp. Derrek who was a Compton Crip and I must have hiked five miles, and its two oclock in the morning. The guy sitting next to her will pretend like hes doing his homework. In response to recent disclosures concerning the California Youth Authority, on May 16, 2000, the Senate and Assembly Public Safety Committees held a joint oversight hearing. Everybody from Los Angeles got along. Violence was common at YTS. California Coalition for Youth PO Box 161448 Sacramento, CA 95816 (916) 514-4464 (916) 514-4499 fax. We got a rule if youre a member of this organization. She couldnt say anything to the teacher because other girls would turn on her and say she was a snitch. In this episode, John (aka Cool Breeze) returns to YTS years after his incarceration to find employment there as a schoolteacher. I went to Camp Karl Holton and it was more peaceful. I figured if nobody is going to follow the rules of an institution, Im going to relax the rules, too. Report (Technical Assistance) He was there at Chino from about 93 to 2000. There were actually rougher places in my opinion. This C.O. Contact the California State Archives for more information. Membership Inquiries membership@calyouth.org. Can you fight? People were lenient. They sent a therapist in to talk to me. He refused to take me to medical. David William Reeve is an independent writer and photographer who documents the lives of juveniles at risk. California Education Authority Kim Rigg, Superintendent of Education P.O. She wrote me a letter and said, Adrin dont be mad, but this C.O. On December 1, 1979, I was in a Christmas parade riding my lowrider bike; I came home and nobody was there. Instead of him helping me out, the psych made it worse. I was a teenager, so I knew everything. Whites didnt have gangs. Provide students with a learning environment that provides them . Im not eating because theres a lot of things happening, and I dont know who to talk to. I told him everything that Id seen. You go through CPR training and fire rescue training. E: FreshOutSeries@gmail.comhttp://www.freshoutseries.com/https://www.instagram.com/freshoutseries/https://www.facebook.com/Freshoutserieshttps://www.patreon.com/Freshoutseries-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-Please watch: \"Confessions of a Former Rampart CRASH Officer - Fresh Out: Life After The Penitentiary\" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdWStRS4zv4-~-~~-~~~-~~-~- I was in YTS from 1981 to 1988. Riots kicked off every week. I grew up in a nice part San Bernardino. Yts 84-87 y+z 42759 Righteous Wood Here Frosty Lompoc, #66150;Definitely a gladiator school. There was a student aid in art class. We all road out together. Gladiator school.. When the lights came on the girl was crying. Man what a trip that was, the thought of the smell of mace and tear gas soaked blankets still makes my mouth water.And the thought of warm bologna sandwiches 3 times a day while doing a stretch in the rack at Preston def brings a half cocked smirk filled with a Im bad mutha fu#@#$ attitude to my face! Sentenced till I turned 25. The Chicanos and the Whites take showers together; its 3-minute showers, you go in there, you get wet, you step out and start soaping up, and you dont wash your hair. When I was in Ventura, I put a S.U.R. We where in the mountains of ione so it was freezing. It made me very happy because that meant I could stay at Ventura. DA/FCC #: DA-01-317; Docket/RM: 96-45, 97-21 He had been arrested for beating my Mom. I went to prison in Atwater, CA in Terre Haute, Indiana in Oklahoma too. Compare pay for popular roles and read about the team's work-life balance. Wards and staff were in physical danger due to the environment, abundance of contraband and a broken health care system, the report said. On August 9, 1996, Youth Counselor Baker, who was also assigned to C/D Company at the facility, worked a 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. shift, as shift coordinator. Tim gave me hope and encourage me to go-to school and get my AA. Around 2 o clock in the morning, all the power went off. I went on a shooting spree in 1993. I held knowledge about gangs because I was a shot-caller, so they didnt want me to have any contact with other gang members. He had fought with my homeboy so when he came at me I just put out a knife and stabbed him. I was in my room and the whole prison went on lockdown, searching for this lady. "An inmate named Sam was a real problem. It went from a handful of us in that unit to 30, 40 of us. I was able to write a book about my experience to help with the PTSD. From inmates to staff to visitors to religious volunteers. I try to be positive. In one fight, the former CYA ward said he was given two black eyes. I didnt like Youth Training School. The women used to rip their pants on purpose and didnt wear panties. Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000, United States. Close School, the Karl Holton School, the DeWitt Nelson School, and there . Then went to Karl Holton, then Preston. The story begins at a reunion in Yucaipa for former YTS prisoners. It was there that minors would harden themselves for survival, only to be returned to the streets more troubled and volatile than when they arrived. I spent my entire youth in the California Youth Authority (14-21). I became a shot-caller for the Sureos gang. When I went to the hole, they stripped me down took all my clothes off. The prison was closed in 2010 when the State had no other solution for the violence and mayhem there; a State Attorney called it an especially horrible place and hundreds of workers lost their jobs. These were juveniles. A2007 reportreleased by the states inspector general found that wards spent 22 hours a day in their cells while wards in the transitional program were not assigned classes, despite being in the unit for three months. Big Herc went to California Youth Authority Preston, where you can find kids charged with everything from Assault to Murder. I wanted some way out. There was an older guy named Wino who had recently come out of YTS. Its not allowed. Get the inside scoop on jobs, salaries, top office locations, and CEO insights. Than if you wanted the rest of your hour out your cell you can go outside in a cage and just get some fresh air and freeze your ass off.. ( I could talk for hours)Most people I was in there with are in prison or dead. The author, who was the director of the California Youth Authority (CYA) for 3 years beginning in 1991, describes CYA's responsibilities in governing the State's juvenile facilities. Shipped to OH on the green dick. Im looking around, but nobody knows nothing. I was screaming and crying. Flag. California Dept of the Youth Authority. . We had been out for two days, going from one fire to the next. Getting our cells searched and tossed up by the staff. She had to do a sexual favor in return. In this cup was a little juice and some Thorazine. 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