Mevrat: From Wild to Wonderful

Empowering Youth

Mevrat was a 16 year old boy living in Kiryat Yam, who was, what most would describe as mischievous and wild to an unhealthy extent. He attended one of the ENP Youth Outreach Centers in his neighborhood, but instead of listening to any of the ENP staff or engaging nicely with other peers, he would start fights, run around constantly, break every rule, and even beat up on his own brother. He had also, due to this behavior, left his boarding school and entered the work force. He would work until 2 pm, and then come to the center.

The ENP staff saw that he was not responding to any soft rules or nice words, but since he enjoyed coming to the center, and the need for it in his neighborhood was so great, they wanted to find a way to help him calm down so that he could keep coming. They decided to give him an ultimatum. If he was willing to meet with the staff regularly and listen to their rules, then he could continue coming.

His behavior, after only a few short weeks of intensive work with the ENP staff, improved dramatically, and with their encouragement of how important education was, he decided to go back to school. The wild behavior has been eradicated and, though school takes up most of his time, he is still motivated to come to the center, where he is welcomed with open arms.