A 16-year-old vandalized the Blackwell Youth Center... and working there is changing his life.

Criminals may return to the scene of a crime, but at the Blackwell Youth Center, a teenager who once vandalized the facility has left the place – and come back – as a new man.

16-year-old Ayden McPhee had been visiting the youth center for about a year when he got caught vandalizing the property. He faced a criminal charge and a $3,000 fine, he said. But rather than press charges against McPhee, Youth Center Director Denise Hindman had another idea: give him the chance to do community service.

“She really helped me out of a bind,” McPhee said. “Ever since then, I did all my hours with her, we got a connection, and she was like, ‘You’re a really good worker. After all this, I can hire you on.’ … And here we are.”

McPhee is one of countless American youth who’ve been given a second chance after committing a criminal offense by doing community service rather than jail time. And the key to successfully helping kids overcome their past, McPhee says, is the love Hindman has for youth.

“She’s such a nice lady,” McPhee said. “I’m so mesmerized by the fact that she could just forgive like that. Most people would not have done something like that. You deserve to get your consequences, but she’s like, ‘You know, everybody gets a second chance.’”

SERVING YOUTH

Hindman has been mentoring Blackwell youth for years. She was the secretary at Blackwell Middle School before becoming the youth center director. She was out of town when McPhee and others tore up part of a brick wall at the facility last year. When she returned to Blackwell, she asked some of the youth if they knew of the incident.

“The thing about kids is, they will squeal on each other,” Hindman said. “Within five seconds, I knew the name. Oh, I was mad.”

McPhee said he had no reason for tearing up the small, outdoor wall. He and others kicked it down after they hit it with a basketball. But after he was caught, he and others involved came to the youth center to apologize.

Hindman accepted it.

“You’ve got to stop and think: We all make mistakes,” Hindman said. “If you acknowledge it and know you’ve done wrong, then you start in a new beginning. I’m waiting for some kids that have done some things to come to me right now, about three of them.”

McPhee did community service for six months, and Hindman hired him a month later. He’s been working there for two months by helping with various duties around the facility, which hosts youth dances and arts and crafts events for children.

“I treat them like they’re my kids,” Hindman said. “When they do something wrong, you’ve got to let them know. … You have to have boundaries.”

PLACE FOR GRACE

Hindman has offered community service to others who’ve been ordered to perform it. It aligns with her goal of making the youth center a place where youth from all backgrounds can be loved and accepted, she said.

“Most of these kids that are getting in trouble, they’re just wanting to fit in,” Hindman said. “They’re going to act bigger and tougher.”

Hindman knows that from personal experience, she said. Growing up in Houston, Texas, she ran with a rough crowd. Her home life was poor, and she and her siblings raised themselves.

“I wonder, sometimes, what I went through in my childhood for,” Hindman said. “I think I went through it because I understand what you go through because I went through that.”

Hindman was able to channel her pain into love for others because of the heart God gave her. And if she could teach young people anything at the youth center, it would be that they’re loved, forgiven and worthy of good things – regardless of their past.

“It’s not my mission. It’s my purpose,” Hindman said. “God gives us all something.”

McPhee said Hindman is willing to listen and discuss tough, emotional topics, something that has helped him grow.

“She’s always honest with me and nice,” McPhee said. “She’s always been there if I needed her.”

Hindman is considering retirement in the near future, but in the meantime, she’s still running the youth center with the same love and kindness that changes kids for the better. Just ask McPhee.

“I feel like it’s made me a better person overall,” McPhee said. “If you knew me last year, you would not want to be around me. Really, I was so bad. After I spent a lot of time here, I don’t want to do the things that I did anymore. I feel like, the good energy she puts off, I absorbed it or something. I’m not who I used to be because I got into a good place like this.”