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ABOUT THE GPP: PRISON TRIPS & COLLEGE TRIPS
An important tool in prevention for the Capital Region Gang Prevention Center is the combined bi-monthly trips to Correctional Facilities along with the college/ university tours. This program, called "Choices", offers the youth a chance to be exposed to two extremes. The choice then is theirs. The Youth Assistance Program presented by the New York State Department Of Corrections has been a valuable asset in reinforcing the seriousness of incarceration.
Children see the reality of prison life and talk one-on-one with inmates who offer positive advice and tell of ways to handle peer pressure, alcohol and drugs, and other problems encountered on the streets.
After exposing the youth to negative attributes provided by correctional facilities, they are shown the positive alternatives that await them, such as the different colleges and universities located in the tr-state region. The ability to expose the children "outside the box" in which most live, will provide them with another source of positive reinforcement in making the right CHOICE.