Achievement center aims to help at-risk youth

WINCHESTER, Va. (AP) — The Timbrook Achievement Center — TAC for short — is working hard to help at-risk youth in Winchester and Frederick County.

Since its opening in October 2019, TAC has had 56 participants (it was closed from March 2020 to October 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

The center, located on the Youth Development Center campus, is for teens ages 14 to 18 who have been referred to the nonprofit group by either the court system, Social Services, the local school systems, private providers or family members.

TAC is a place where these kids go after school four days a week, Monday through Thursday, from 3 to 8 p.m. — the time juveniles are most likely to get in trouble. They have a snack, do their homework, make dinner together, then sit around the table with staff and share their “high and low of the day,” Frederick/Winchester Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Elizabeth Kellas told people at a recent TAC open house.

This may not seem like a big deal, “but it’s a big step for these kids,” stressed Kellas, who is the driving force behind TAC and chair of its steering committee.

A summer program is also available.

Audio recordings from a few TAC participants were shared at the open house. One teen said TAC encouraged him to “stay on the right track.” Another said the program kept her busy and “out of trouble.”

TAC participants weren’t at the open house because many are court-involved and the program strives to keep their identities confidential.

Kellas said TAC’s goal is to provide a comprehensive detention alternative for truant and delinquent youth.

“Many of our community youth face poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, mental health issues, violence and a general lack of hope,” she wrote...