TOWSON, Md. - Prisoners Against Teen Tragedy, one of the longest-running youth diversion programs in the Division of Correction, handed over two $500 scholarship checks for Hagerstown Community College recently during the group's annual awards banquet.
PATT, supervised by case management specialist Shawn Bailey at Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagerstown, has helped thousands of young people steer clear of bad choices. Started in 1988, the program has seen teenagers from three states and the District of Columbia come through. Typically, the kids take a tour and spend several hours with a group of 10 inmates, who counsel the young men and women and speak frankly about their own past mistakes.
The 10 inmates, all volunteers, have a heart for youth and a desire to keep the kids from making the bad choices that landed them in prison - in some cases, for life.
At the awards ceremony, PATT's inmate leaders presented two $500 checks for the "Second Chance Scholarship Fund," to be awarded to two students for the spring semester at Hagers-town Community College.
