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Get Lost!

These troubled teens found themselves at Lost and Found. But now the program is finding itself out of options.

A A A Comments (5) By Adam Cayton-Holland Thursday, Jun 7 2007

At Lost and Found, he met up with another white student who'd bounced through the system most of his life, and they got in trouble for drawing swastikas. But eventually, through close group therapy and interactions with students from diverse backgrounds, Austin started to open up. And then came an epiphany.

"We were in a van with some black kids in this program, heading to some outing, and they were listening to rap," Austin recalls. "And they were banging their heads up and down, and I'm real into metal, and I realized those guys were doing exactly what I do when I listen to music. Maybe not as intensely, but the same thing. And it was simple like that. Then they listened to some of my music and were like, 'This is all right.' And it just helped me to get to know someone from a different race as an actual person. There's a lot of people in this world, and you shouldn't judge them just off their skin color."

Jim J. Narcy

Terry Rogers thinks the best place for a youth residential facility is in a youth residential area.

Jim J. Narcy

Harl Hargett came up with a plan to consolidate Lost and Found's facilities at Singing River Ranch.

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Nor should you judge them from their background, Austin says, adding that he can't believe that the Clear Creek neighbors think the kids at Lost and Found would be a real threat. "If anyone goes AWOL from here," he points out, "their priority is not to stop and fuck with any of the neighbors, but to go as far and as fast they can."

Because for most, the real priority is to get their lives together. "I just wish they would get to know us a bit," Austin says. "Find out who we really are. A lot of us here are focused on making our lives better. I'm sick of being in the system, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get better. I want a normal life, I want a family and a house and a car. I don't want to be a fuckup my whole life, and I'm working as hard as I can on fixing that. I just think that before they shun us, they should try to figure out what we're all about."

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E S 01/03/2009 7:29:00 PM

I was a client at lost and found there great people, with a great program.

Kim 09/12/2007 4:53:00 PM

I totally understand the residence's apprehension with this facility coming in. The fear of having a family member violated by the residence is unthinkable. The unthinkable happened to me. So I write to ask that the area residences reconsider their opinions of Lost and Found. This facility is one where troubled youth are closely monitored and truly retrained to become productive members of society and civil people. Presently serving his or her term at L&F is the one that violated a member of my family. If not for Lost and Found, I don't know where this person would have ended up. Instead, there is hope in his(her) future and value in his(her) life. We too have been offered the best in council and care. No local law enforcement person will tell you that a facility like Lost and Found is the danger. No, more danger is on your own television or internet connection, which probably was the original problem with many of the children in their care. Lost and Found gives them the tools and accountability to overcome these obsticales and be able to face tomorrow. Let us consider reasonably what we need to do. It takes a village to raise the greatest natural resource our nation has, our children. Perhaps this means allowing a camp like this to exist in this beautiful area, to face our own fears by visiting, and to consider supporting them, even financially to continue to bring healing to our neighborhoods. Thank you, Mr. Targett for fighting for a beautiful place like this and having vision to help our children.

Dave 06/26/2007 3:22:00 PM

It's not about the kids. I feel for them, but the location isn't the right one for the camp. There is no direct connection to the heart of Clear Creek County that contains the majority of the emergency services. The only access from the county seat is up to I-70 and then down Hwy 74 to Upper Bear. The waste water treatment was inadequate for even the occasional use camp that operated there years ago - sewage levels in Upper Bear Creek made EPA lists in the past because of the camp. The water supply is inadequate, and is being disputed in water court. The legal access is not wide enough for two direction traffic, which means in the case of a wildfire emergency services will have to wait until the facility is evacuated to go in and fight the fire. The prior special use has expired since the camp has been inactive for so long. I'm sorry that Lost and Found made such a mistake when they picked this property - maybe they should have done better research into the realities of putting such a facility in a remote inaccessable area prior to taking on such a financial drain without just assuming they could change all the rules at their whim.

JonOfCentennial 06/11/2007 4:01:00 PM

It sounds like there is a lot misinformation about both sides of this issue. On the one hand you have the sheriff who says he's contacted other agencies and found Lost and Found to be a problematic neighbor and then you have a neighbor in Morrison who says just the opposite. You have Lost and Found saying they will reduce usage while the surrounding neighbors say it will dramatically increase. It would help both sides to have a neutral third party due some research into home invasions, assaults, etc. of neighbors of existing facilities run by this group since that seems to be the real underlying concern of the current home owners. If the facts don't support the opinions, the rest of this is just noise. My opinion is that if Lost and Found can be proven to be a tolerable neighbor in a urban/suburb environment then there is every reason to believe they will be the same in a more rural setting.

d. walker 06/07/2007 4:49:00 PM

I used to live and work on Upper Bear Creek in Evergreen years ago and hike up the Singing River Ranch road. I can understand homeowners wanting to keep paradise to themselves and feeling threatened by the Lost & Found facility as this is the way the American mind has been conditioned. I can't think of a more conducive setting for healing and giving these troubled youths a chance to turn their lives around and become the kind of neighbor the locals would appreciate. It's a BIG WORLD out there folks - stop playing Chicken Little and give it a chance.

Get Lost!

These troubled teens found themselves at Lost and Found. But now the program is finding itself out of options.

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Get Lost!

These troubled teens found themselves at Lost and Found. But now the program is finding itself out of options.

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