Trash to treasure

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jul 10, 2008 | by Dana Guzzetti

Art projects at Contra Costa Juvenile Hall are inspiring kids, and it all started when those allowed to go to the Community Day School had an art project making Mother's Day cards and necklaces.

"The kids were begging to come back," said Karan Simoni with the Juvenile Hall Auxiliary. "Then it became a reward for the kids who where keeping up in school and behaving."

Now that the county day school is on summer break, youngsters need these programs more than ever. So Simoni is encouraging recycled donations to the art program and eager to find a permanent home for it.

The girls at Chris Adams Center are making decorative reuseable shopping bags for sale at the Aug. 2 Peddlers' Faire in Martinez. Sale proceeds all go to the young people for outings, scholarships and residents' special needs. Simoni will be there to talk about the art program.

Self-proclaimed "Dumpster Diva" R.C. Ferris has been diverting some potential recycled art materials to the auxiliary. She is materials coordinator for Generation Green's Dumpster Diversion project.

Renowned for her imaginative use of recycled materials, she gives workshops on artistic uses for such items, and diverts remaining materials to organizations like the auxiliary.

"Just imagine that these kids have no dreams, no hope. The art inspires their imagination," Simoni said. "With mentoring comes recuperation, and then life."

Materials that make great art projects frequently end up in a landfill. According to the California Integrated Waste Management Board, more than 60 percent of the "garbage" in California landfills can be composted or recycled.

Items like broken dishes, half-burned candles, old or broken costume jewelry, decorative fabrics, clothing, used paints and pens, greeting cards, colored paper, ribbon and wrapping paper can be transformed into something beautiful or useful by young artists.

Results of the program have been so positive that Shannon Grosenheider, executive administrative assistant for the Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall Auxiliary, is looking for a permanent location for the classes and a gallery/retail space where professional artists can come and mentor the youths.

Founded in 1955, Juvenile Hall Auxiliary is a nonprofit volunteer organization designed to help at-risk youth. The group provides support and assistance to minors and dependents that are under the county Probation and Social Service Departments.

The auxiliary has helped thousands of youngsters with assistance for training and education, providing reading glasses, clothing, gang-related tattoo removal, help paying for summer camp and more.

"We do an annual fashion show with the girls at the center. They wear interview, casual outfit and prom-type outfits from the Hall Closet," Grosenheider said. "They get their hair done, families come; it's wonderful."

She proudly describes some of the "stars" who have transformed themselves with help from the Auxiliary.

"One young man is in at his second year at Boalt Hall (UC Berkeley law school) and we have a young lady who graduated last year from UC Berkeley."

The auxiliary's Hall Closet thrift store is a primary source of income. With no overhead, and stocked by donations, volunteers are able to sell to the public at low prices.

The shop is run by volunteers and is "a work of the heart," Grosenheider said. "Twelve volunteers spend their own gas to get there and they do it for the kids. They want these young people to know we are willing to sacrifice for them."HELPING YOUTH-- The Hall Closet thrift store, operated by the Juvenile Hall Auxiliary, is at 202 Glacier Drive, Martinez. It is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, and from 8:30 a.m. to noon the first Saturday of the month. For information, visit www.jhaux.org; or call 925-957- 2718 during open hours.