North Texas young people who were once incarcerated but turned their lives around are what our work with at risk youth is all about.

Young people who have hope in their hearts can respond to the opportunity for change. A miracle happens when an incarcerated teen turns circumstances around and moves past negative behavior into a promising normal future, leaving destructive behavior behind them.

The Faithful Friend volunteers are our angels who see promise in the chance to capture the imagination of youthful offenders and provide guidance, mentoring, direction and the teachings of Jesus Christ to face the reality of their actions and move forward towards their own futures.

Click here to learn more about what we do for Incarcerated Youth.

Juveniles in North Texas detention facilities have a great deal of time to reflect on their lives, their actions, their decisions and their future.

In the grand scheme of things, their time in detention is a window of opportunity in which some juvenile offenders can be reached and shown a different path for their lives. Faithful Friend volunteers step through that window of opportunity and into the lives of incarcerated at-risk youth to share the teachings of Jesus Christ and the example he set for us to follow in our lives.

Self motivation and self control are skills many young people lack, but they are skills that can be learned and can be supported by prayer and a relationship with God. By learning how to pray and how to connect openly with God through the lessons Jesus teaches us, youthful offenders can develop the skills and abilities to keep themselves on the right path after they leave juvenile detention and begin the next chapters in their lives.

Click here to learn more about what we do for Incarcerated Youth.

James 1:17 tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

God’s Word and His love for us is unchanging, consistent and eternal.

Incarceration in a juvenile detention facility necessarily involves removal from many outside negative influences and requires strict adherence to rules, regulations, schedules and routines. This interruption in negative patterns and influences, as well as the duration in which a young person has to reflect on his or her actions, choices, associations and behavior, presents an opportunity for Faithful Friend volunteers to engage North Texas incarcerated youth and help guide them towards consistency, uniformity, obedience and compliance with society’s laws, rules and norms after their release.

Faithful Friend volunteer mentors promote consistency, uniformity, setting realistic goals, compliance, obedience, keeping your word, telling the truth, keeping promises, being on time, following a regular schedule, having the courage to overcome temptation, praying at regular times, reading the bible, following the consistent message taught by Jesus; and understanding and feeling personally included in God’s plan for all of us.

Click here to learn more about what we do for Incarcerated Youth.

For at-risk youth and incarcerated teens it can be easy to forget how to feel our connection with God. Our connection to God might be an illusive and abstract concept.

But John 4:16 reminds us that God IS love. To connect with God, we need to connect with the unconditional love that God is and that God has for each of us.

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”
John 4:16

Faithful Friend illustrates in a small but evident way the idea of unconditional love through our superbly trained service dogs. Those who have owned dogs, know the pure, consistent, unconditional love dogs have for their masters. We use this concept in teaching our students about their faith and how to find it, and remain connected to God.

Understanding God’s unconditional love for each of us can be a source of strength, inspiration and hope for incarcerated youth whom we want to provide with every tool possible to forge a new, law-abiding life for themselves as contributing members of society when they ultimately leave juvenile detention.

Click here to learn more about what we do for Incarcerated Youth.