Nine teenagers were honored earlier this week for completing life skills training and goal-setting exercises through Project Imagine, which is a community violence intervention collaborative to steer youths away from gang activity.

Graduating were Trevonte Brandon, Kemori Dixon, Ivan Guzman, Ramaija Price, Jayden Pritchett, Chance Robinson, Jamyica Wagstaff, Derrick Walden Jr., and Damarion Wimbush.

Robert David, violence prevention manager for Project Imagine, commended the graduates for taking the time to go through the program.

“None of you had to come here, but you made the decision (to go through the program) – and to me, that is powerful,” David said at the graduation ceremony on Wednesday. “That is why we take this time to celebrate your accomplishment (graduation). Life is hard. You cannot take anything for granted, not even your next breath. So, you took the time to say, ‘hey, I am going to do something different (with my life).’ We respect that.”

David said everyone probably has at one time in their life while on a walk encountered a dog in the yard.

“You knew that if you walked that way, that dog was going to chase you,” he said. “That’s how it is for these young people in the streets now. When they step out on these streets, they know they are going to have to make a decision. You can make the decision to walk down that path where you know the dog is at – where there is danger – or you can make a decision to avoid the dog. That is what they are doing here today. They have made the decision to change direction to avoid the dog.”

The program steers youths away from gang activity by developing and maintaining relationships with mentors, and by focusing on goals such as having no contact with law enforcement, improving their grades, completing school, and becoming employed.

As part of the program, the youths receive strength-based assessments using the Casey Life Skills and Clifton Strengths tools. These tools are used to place youths on a path toward developing healthy, productive lives.

Also, a Project Imagine outreach worker is assigned to mentor each youth for a minimum of one year. Project Imagine staff tag the phrase “your new aunts and uncles,” meaning that they will serve as a support system for the youths.

Deputy City Manager Earl Reynolds encouraged the youths to stay focused and to respect “time.”

“Never think that you have all the time in the world – because you don’t” he said. “Never think that when you have an opportunity to do it (something positive) today that you can wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow is not promised. You may find yourself in a totally different situation tomorrow and that opportunity has gone away.”

Since the program’s inception, 18 classes, totaling more than 100 teens, have graduated.

Project Imagine is based on the evidence-based theory of Cognitive Behavior Therapy in that if the youth can implement new information and standards, then he or she can change their behavior. The idea is that the program creates a positive “image” in the mind of the youth so that he or she can “Imagine” a life without gangs or crime.

The teens in Project Imagine are chosen from referrals from the police department, courts, schools, and parents.

Project Imagine has received national recognition. In 2020, David was named a winner of the Frederic Milton Thrasher Award by the National Gang Crime Research Center. The award recognizes his accomplishments in gang prevention and intervention.

The program also received the President’s Award from the Virginia Municipal League in October 2019.