BOURNE – “Some of your days here were better than others,” Special Sheriff Jeff Perry reminded graduates, parents, family, and friends last night at closing ceremonies for the Barnstable County Sheriff’s summer youth camp. “But you started and you finished. If you learned one thing this past month, I hope that’s it. The importance of persevering.”
The summer camp is a collaborative effort bringing together specially trained staff from correctional, educational, police and treatment organizations. Together, they provide a supportive environment that fosters improved social skills, increased resiliency and better decision making. Last night’s graduates hail from eight of Cape Cod’s 15 towns.
This diverse mix of physical and classroom training also emphasizes self-control, respect for others, teamwork, integrity, and communication. In addition to its own officers, Barnstable Police Patrolman Brian Morrison helped out as he has in years past. So did others with military and law enforcement experience, including Sandwich Police Officer Christa Cabral. She is the town’s school resource officer.
The youth camp’s 12- to 16-year age group, according to Sheriff James Cummings, is carefully chosen, “concentrating on the formative years when – consciously or not – how individuals decide to spend time and behave can make a huge difference down the line.”
The Sheriff concluded: “We’ve given these adolescents the kind of instruction and advice that can help them navigate the next, critical few years. If at least some take it to heart, we’ll have accomplished what we set out to do.”
Perry, meanwhile, thanked parents for getting their children to camp on time and reminded them the Sheriff Office’s work continues. In the academic year just completed, the Sheriff’s two-man youth office brought a similar message to at least one school in almost every Cape town.
Those efforts resume in September, as they do at the beginning of every school year.
Media release and photos furnished by Barnstable Sheriff’s Office
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