Youth use drums to grow while at Juvenile Treatment Center

At an event held at the Juvenile Treatment Center in South Lake Tahoe, five youth from the Challenge Program recently performed for their families, other detained youth at the facility, Juvenile Service Council members and community members.

The performance was the culmination of the 8-week Drumbeat program. Drumbeat is an evidence-based program with proven positive social outcomes. Using the traditional African Djembe drum as the vehicle for communication, the program combines the therapeutic potential of musical expression with a range of social learning outcomes including emotional control, improved relationships, and increased self-esteem. Liz Broscoe, a local professional musician, is a certified facilitator of the program, and has been using the program, combined with other outcome-based techniques, to help at-risk youth. Not only did Liz guide the youth through drumming rhythms to build community and support within the group, they were also given assignments to reflect on the role they play in their own destiny. Judge Steven Bailey, and El Dorado County Supervisor Sue Novasel, who both attended the event, agreed that programs like this are instrumental in helping youth in our community who might have made inappropriate decisions to get on the right track. But it is really the youth who can best express the impact of the program.

“When we come into group I’m usually really pissed off, but by the end of group I’m not pissed anymore," said a 17-year-old participant. "The Drumbeat program actually makes me happy and relieves A LOT of stress that I carry every day with me. It really does help…at least more than we realize”.

The Drumbeat Program was made available from grant funding to the Juvenile Service Council from the American Century Championship and El Dorado Community Foundation/South Lake Tahoe Fund. The Juvenile Service Council is an all-volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to working with the detained youth in the Juvenile Treatment Center here in South Lake Tahoe, and the Juvenile Hall in Placerville. The group meets with the detained youth each month to spend time with them, provide enrichment programs, and assist however we can to ensure they have the tools and resources they need when they re-enter society.

If you would like to become a volunteer, learn more, or make a donation, please e-mail eldoradojsc@gmail.com.