Ayres House youth listen to and feel the sound of calm during a 'sound bath'
By John McGreevy, TJJD Communications
The staff and volunteers at our facilities are always looking for new ways to help the youth in our care learn to regulate their emotions. Recently, the youth and staff at TJJD’s Ayres Halfway House, in San Antonio, took part in a sound healing meditation session, led by Jessica Neideffer and her very special assistant, a three and a half-pound dog named Lido.
Neideffer described the session as a process that at a basic level allows the participants to release feelings of stress, anxiety, and physical pain from their bodies.
“I work with sound and vibration to create frequencies to allow the mind to enter deeper brainwave states in order to experience true rest,” she said. “We create a safe space for participants to tune into their self in a new and different way and let go of the outside world. We return our focus inward and listen to the messages that the body is giving us. The sessions provide the opportunity to be aware of the internal dialogue in our mind and give us the chance to change it if we find the voices in our head to be unaligned with how we truly feel. We’re seeking a complete reset of the nervous system and energy of the body and mind.”
Neideffer was looking to expand where she practices her craft and reached out to TJJD’s Executive Director Shandra Carter, who connected her with Youth Experience Leader Elaine Windberg. Windberg put her in touch with Volunteer Services Coordinator Patty Garza with South District and Ayres House. “Patty already knew about sound healing so she was very excited about doing this with the kids,” Neideffer said.
Neideffer knew that the youth and perhaps even members of the staff at Ayres House might be wary of trying something so unusual to most of them. “Sometimes people are very skeptical about it because it doesn’t really have the credit behind it yet from some parts of the medical world," she said. “In fact, we’ve been using sound and vibrational therapy for many years. When we do ultrasounds, we’re using ultrasonic waves to see inside the body.”
Neideffer has worked with high school youth before and she understood the importance of shaping the session for Ayres House. “Every time I go to work with a group, I try to tap into what the lesson or the message is for that day,” she said. “I bring whichever instruments feel best for that group.”
“I keep things light, keep things humorous and I start to play one of the instruments while I’m talking just to get them interested and curious about the sound. It’s easy to get their attention once I start playing one of the instruments. As we connect, I tell a story. Then I get them to share with me what they’re feeling as they’re experiencing the sound, so it’s interactive and gets them participating in the experience, in their healing or self-awareness process.”
It certainly didn’t hurt to have Lido along to get the kids interested.
“Lido started accompanying me to different schools that I went to,” Neideffer said. “The kids just love him, he’s got this very big presence to him, for a three and a half pound chihuahua. When we walked through the door at Ayres House, he just ran in, with this sense of ‘I’m going to tell you what we’ll be doing today’. That’s the kind of energy he brings and anytime I feel like I can bring him along to a group session with me, it brings a lightness and it brings the ease and security that comes with dog, even if they’re not big. He has a big personality and he just makes you laugh.”
“Lido totally broke the ice,” Garza said. “This little dog walked into Ayres House like he owned the place.”
“A few of them were a little unsure, but I just asked them to try to have an open mind,” Garza said. “I told them nobody was trying to force them to participate.”
With 10 youth, five members of staff, and three interns gathered for the session on chairs, a couch, or quilts on the floor, Neideffer got things rolling.
“She explained about the sound bath process and about why meditation was important,” Garza said.
“A lot of the youth here have experienced childhood trauma. Trauma is blocked energy and she talked about how vibrations can release some of that energy.”
“We started with a meditation card deck,” Neideffer said. “The cards feature artwork to guide participants into a different perspective and open new conversation. Each participant picked a card, was invited to share their interpretation of the artwork and how it felt to them. Then I led a guided meditation to create safe space in the mind that provides a visual focal point for the kids to work with if the minds wanders.”
“After that,” Neideffer said, “I played the crystal singing bowls and allowed the kids to close their eyes and rest. The meditation sessions are an opportunity to explore the imagination and listen to what the body and mind are telling us -- notice if it feels loving, or not.”
When she finished playing, all the kids and staff were invited to share what they experienced while listening to the sounds. The kids got to play the instruments themselves to feel the vibrations. “They noticed how each person that played the singing bowls had their own unique way which created a different sound from the same instrument,” Neideffer said. “This was to show them the beauty of their own unique channel and how they share their energy.”
Neideffer spoke of how gratifying it was to hold this session at Ayres House. “These are the people I want to support, because it’s not just for the kids,” she said. “It’s for the caretakers and people working in the facilities because we all feel anxious, we all feel stress. These sessions help us to quiet the mind and allow the body to rest. That way we can reset our nervous system, we can get out of that ‘Fight or Flight’ for a little bit and really feel that deep breath that we’re missing.”
“When it was over almost all of the kids asked when Neideffer and Lido were coming back,” Garza said.
This National Volunteer Month TJJD salutes the dozens of volunteers who share their time and skills with TJJD youth
By John McGreey, TJJD Communications
Martin Luther King, Jr. said “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” This especially comes to mind right now as April is National Volunteer Month.
TJJD’s core objectives are to help shape the lives of the youth in our care and thereby build safer communities. Defining this work is easy, but doing it can be hard. The dedicated staff at our secure facilities and halfway houses do this work every day, but more help is always welcome.
That’s where our Volunteer Services Program comes in. Our team reaches out their communities across Texas for volunteers to assist with special events and projects involving music, art, gardening, and more.
Faithful volunteers visit our secure facilities and halfway houses each week to lead religious activities and worship services, as requested by our youth.
Volunteers also serve as mentors, to counsel our youth in any number of matters. Still others work as tutors to help the students earn their high school diplomas or GEDs.
Here are some facts we’re pleased to share:
TJJD currently has over 400 volunteers and 20 interns lending their time and talents.
Our longest-serving volunteer, Leonel Rodriguez at our Evins facility, has been with us for 31 years.
In the year 2022, these volunteers pitched in with 14,825 hours.
That should provide some sense of the great people we have helping provide for the youth.
We also gratefully recognize the many TJJD employees who volunteer their free time for special events and football and basketball games. That level of commitment says a lot about the character of the people who work with our students.
Everyone who volunteers shows our youth that, in their own way, they matter. Building a connection to their community and seeing the value and personal satisfaction of service through volunteering.
We’re proud to salute the TJJD volunteers across Texas for their meaningful work, and we invite anyone else moved by the spirit of volunteerism to join them.
To learn more, please go to https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/index.php/volunteer-services
Giddings State School showcases student accomplishments at Open House and Family Day
Jennifer Brown embraces her mentoring role as assistant superintendent at Gainesville State School
Evins Campus Volunteers Faithfully Serve Youth and Their Families with Meals, Events and Donations
By Fidel Garcia, Community Volunteer Coordinator, Evins Regional Juvenile Center
Last month, the Volunteer Council serving the Evins campus, in Edinburg, sponsored an Easter family event and helped a family that was struggling financially so that they could attend the event and visit their young loved one.
The Council generously provided the family a gas card for $207, enabling them to drive some 500 miles to Evins Regional Juvenile Center.
“The family was very appreciative when she (the mom) called,” said Crystella Garza, who heads up Family Services at Evins.
The mother told Garza that when she found out about the donation she was overwhelmed and “moved to tears and had to rush to the bathroom to hide my tears of gratitude."
“It was a real financial struggle and miracle that we were all able to go on Saturday,” she told Garza. “Eight hours one way, two cars, five people! We had thought that we wouldn't be able to go. Then Tuesday before last, you kindly called to confirm that I was coming.”
Helping the families and youth in these practical ways has been the core mission of the nonprofit community volunteer councils that serve TJJD’s secure facilities and halfway houses. These groups have been dedicated for decades to helping TJJD/TYC youth with a variety of assistance and programs they develop and deliver, with the approval of the facility leadership.
At Evins Regional Juvenile Center, in the Rio Grande Valley, helping with gas cards and motel bills for families has been a focus of their good works. Not that it’s all the council does, not by a long shot.
Leonel Rodriguez, who’s been volunteering at ERJC for 32 years (you read that right), has helped with a variety of programs in which community members reach out. He works within the South Texas Youth Council (formerly Evins Volunteer Council), one of the most active community groups supporting Evins youth.
“I have always been community oriented and anything I can do to strengthen youth and family has always been my passion," Rodriguez said. "Also, all the wonderful volunteer partners that I have been able to work with throughout the years have kept me going. How can I not?”
Rodriguez chuckles now as he recalls that back in 1991, when then-Volunteer Coordinator Jane Parker asked him to help out, she told him, “Don’t worry it will only be for one year.” Or 32.
Over the years the Council has found a multitude of ways to pitch in. Members raised funds to start Evins’ horticulture program, which has sent many youth into the world with valuable work experiences. They also supported meals for youth and families for the one-time softball Diamond Rattlesnake team.
The Council regularly sponsors graduation receptions for families, students and staff to celebrate the youth receiving their GEDs or high school diplomas and they go into high gear at the holidays, providing Thanksgiving dinners for youth and families featuring a full meal of turkey with the trimmings.
At Christmas, the Council donates enough cash (last year it was more than $2,500) to put some $20 or so on every youth's phone card, allowing the young men to make additional phone calls home beyond their usual allotment.
And they don't forget New Year's Day, when the Council presents each youth with a goody bag with cookies, candy, chips, and a note of encouragement.
Outside of holidays, volunteers serve as role models and mentors, encouraging the youth to think positively and complete their programs so they can go home as early as possible. They check up on them and let them know someone in the community cares about them..
One thing that has remained steady over the years is the eager pool of volunteers that has engaged juveniles at the facility. These volunteers come from all walks of life and sectors of the community. They’ve undergone background checks and trained to work with the youth population.
At Evins, the volunteer program has revived after a couple years of restrained activities caused by COVID. But even during that time, with quarantines and limits on visitors, the volunteers found ways to keep up the connections, financially sponsoring various activities from behind the scenes. Some wrote letters of encouragement.
Rodriguez, an owner agent with State Farm Insurance in McAllen, joined just eight months after the Council incorporated in 1990. He’s held numerous positions on the board and has been nominated several times at the local and state level for various awards for his community involvement.
Many times, volunteer groups will work cooperatively and in conjunction with the Council. One such group, the Catholic Dioceses of Brownsville, has provided religious programing for Catholic youth through Bible studies, Sacrament classes, baptism, and weekend retreats.
However, when it comes to providing support for the youth, they treat all youth the same regardless of their religious affiliation.
At the Thanksgiving holiday, the Catholic Diocese volunteers complemented the Council’s turkey plate with drinks, pies and most importantly the manpower to serve and hand deliver each plate to the youth.
Other groups that have been outstanding supporters include members of the Apostolado de La Cruz and Our Lady of Sorrows which are parishes of the Catholic Diocese. Many of the members in this group belong to other civic organizations and spread the word out quickly when a need is identified for the youth at Evins. Through their efforts, weekend retreats have been organized and manpower recruited when needed.
These groups will network with the Council to help families to visit their loved ones. Usually the Council will provide a gift card for the round trip gas and they will step in and provide a one night stay for the family at a local hotel.
“When you are traveling for hours to get to Evins to visit their son we want to make sure that for those that can’t afford it we provide a comfortable place and snacks for them to rest and enjoy after a ten hour drive,” said Ignacio Estorga, a chaplain volunteer and Council member.
Also, during each Family Day they provide funding for a full meal and game prizes for a variety of games, which caseworkers and staff organize for the youth and visiting family members.
And when they hear from staff organizing Family Days that someone needs help getting there, they go into action -- as they did last month. Helping bring families together is something they strongly support, Rodriguez said.
“The family unit has been the glue that holds the family together,” he said, “and hopefully [is] the deterrent to the youth from continuing down the wrong road.”
(Photos: A family prays at a Thanksgiving dinner; volunteers pose at the Evins' entrance; a family celebrates together during an Easter egg hunt.)