Troubled teens find direction in farming

BAINBRIDGE, Ohio - Boys from around Ohio gather in Bainbridge in Ross County to learn a better way of living. The 67 young men have serious criminal records and Lighthouse Youth Center - Paint Creek attempts to change behavior through life lessons.

"We really want young men, who have made some pretty bad decisions that were hurtful to other people, to learn to become responsible citizens," said Program Director, Mark Ingles.

For the past quarter century almost 1,000 kids with tough backgrounds have come here to receive help merging into society. Ingles referenced a number of studies, including one by the RAND Corporation , that suggest recidivism ranged between 15 and 30 percent. That means nearly 700 kids lead a life free of crime after completing the program.

The center at Paint Creek has incorporated a greenhouse for the at-risk youth to earn a stipend. The boys grow plants from seeds and eventually sell them, either at the center, or near Chillocothe, Ohio at a farmers market.

"The local OSU Extension agent said to us one day that the largest growing industry in urban Ohio is, at that time, was the green industry," said Ingles.

The boys chose the design of the building and built it up from the ground. After four years, the program is seeing success. One of the programs graduates now operates his own company .

"Clearly, they become more employable," said Ingles. "One young man was offered a job at a hydrophobic greenhouse after he left, because of his experience here."

Cincinnati youngsters understand how having a green thumb can earn them some green in the future.

"[We're] making the plants strong and healthy to trying to make us… grow strong and healthy," said Norman Lackey.

"They are growing [and] I'm growing the same way," explained Diaro Sanders. "I'm getting older and mature. Just learning a lot while I'm here."