Targeting Madison’s troubled youth

By Jane DeGeorge
Eagle reporter
Published: August 28, 2008

Brightwood resident Penny Toliver first moved to Madison County more than 20 years ago for the community’s “family atmosphere.”

But over the years, she’s watched this “atmosphere” start to change, she said.

The parking lot of a fast food restaurant and convenience store complex in downtown Madison is one spot where unsupervised youth often congregate and cause trouble, according to Toliver.

“There are kids there hanging out constantly and you can clearly tell they are under the influence of something,” said Toliver, who is a nurse at Culpeper Juvenile Correctional Center. Some of these youths are rude to those passing by, creating the sense of a negative environment, she said.

But Toliver isn’t willing to sit back and watch the community’s problems escalate. Earlier this summer, she started a community action group focused on steering Madison County’s youth away from a life of crime and drugs.

Although, the Brightwood resident doesn’t believe there are necessarily active gangs in Madison County, some local teenagers will act as if they are in gangs, she said.

Some of these youth wear lots of red clothing in order to appear as if they are connected to the “Bloods” gang, although “they really don’t know anything about [the gang],” according to Toliver. Vandalism in certain parts of Madison County has also included some gang symbols, she said.

“I’m not saying they’re necessarily in gangs but they’re representing themselves as so, dressing as so,” Toliver said.

Many teenagers that are drawn to a lifestyle of crime lack a supportive family life, the correctional center employee said.

“It’s easier for them to be mean and be feared because they don’t know how to be loved,” she said.

However, other teens, whose family lives are fine, may be attracted to hanging out with groups that include the “misfits” and teens who “act out” because of the sense that “it’s ‘cool’ being a part of a group,” Toliver explained.

The organization aims to educate the community about the potential problem and preventative measures families and school representatives can take to keep teens out of trouble.

Following the group’s first meeting earlier this month, which included representatives from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and Madison County Public Schools as well as parents and other local residents, Toliver has already seen a difference, she said. 

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office increased its patrol of certain areas around town where teens often get in trouble, according to Toliver.

The group also plans to work closely with Madison County Public Schools staff, including the schools’ coaches, to push youth to get involved in sports and other extracurricular activities to keep them busy and active.

Toliver is also trying to organize for some former inmates of the juvenile correctional center to visit some of the county’s schools and speak to students about “where they can go wrong,” she said.

The group’s next meeting is set for 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 13 at Antioch Baptist Church in downtown Madison. For information, contact Karen Terrell or Penny Toliver at (540) 547-3144.