We are embarking on a new project -- in an environment that is new to us. When I tell you it is at Three Lakes High School in Albany, Oregon, you probably picture a typical coed high school. This high school is not coed and is not typical -- it is 100% within the walls of Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility.

Oak Creek Correctional Facility has up to 75 young females (12-25 years old); OYA (Oregon Youth Authority) youth spend from 6 to 9 months with OYA concentrating on school and treatment prior to reentry into the community. A third of their youth are from Oregon Department of Corrections because while they committed their crimes as juveniles, they were convicted in adult court. Some of the ODOC youth will parole from them into the community, while others will age out of OYA and return to ODOC for the rest of their sentence. Break The Chain and Project Change Reaction is a good way for them to give back and help other youth not take the path they did . . .