Students combat violence, discrimination on campus

By Jean Ortiz, jortiz@VenturaCountyStar.com
December 20, 2004

Solving problems comes second nature to Jennica Hein because she knows one important thing -- she can't do it on her own.

Hein, a Moorpark High School student assistance counselor, is using teenagers to get to the root of social and racial problems before they escalate into major conflicts, hate crimes or other tragedies.

"Teenagers are not the problem," she said. "They are the solution."

So when Hein was hired at Moorpark High School in June 1999, just months after the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., she knew she would have to take a different approach to reaching students.

She created Teens for Humanity, a student club focused on eliminating fears of discrimination and violence.

Rather than calling troubled teens into her office and prescribing them a textbook solution to whatever problems they faced, be it drugs, drinking or just feeling as if they didn't belong, Hein said she approached the students in a more natural manner.

Group members could reach out to those in need to join them in activities -- lunch, helping with fund raising for the group or, as they did recently, handing out red ribbons to students to remind them not to drink and drive over holiday break.

Just making these students feel as if they belong is a step in the right direction, she said.

"So many times after a school incident of violence or a hate crime, the counselors are on the TV and they're all haggard and tired and they're like, 'We knew he was troubled but we didn't know how to reach him,' " she said. "We have to reach all of them."

The club has proven successful by decreasing school fights and violence, increasing the number of students involved in support groups and growing to an "eclectic" group of 325 students at the Moorpark chapter, including those who want to save the world and those who need saving, she said.

Students focus on social and racial education on both ends of the spectrum -- from preventing problems to serving as a place for teens who are less than tolerant to get help for their anger.

They work out of an office-turned-living-room, complete with couches, bed pillows, bean bags and posters with positive messages -- "You can change the world" and "When you believe in yourself anything is possible."

Here, they can talk about anything and everything -- how to tackle the problem of graffiti in restrooms, how to deal with someone who's going through a rough time, or their take on other problems, including a recent hate crime in Simi Valley.

The atmosphere is welcoming to Lauren Reeling, 15, a soft-spoken girl who said the group offers her a place to express herself and deal with problems at home. It also gives her a chance to help others deal with their problems, she said.

The idea for Teens for Humanity has spread to other schools in the state over the past few years, but it really took off after Hein attended a national convention this summer.

Now there are about 200 chapters in the country, some calling themselves Teens for Humanity and others taking different names but retaining the same concepts, said Hein, CEO of the national group.

In an era of growing budget constraints and the threat of school violence, the group could take on an even more important role in the future.

"When counselors have large case loads, then a group like this can be something that can solve some of the problems that we're trying to deal with," said Christine Bliss, a counselor at Thousand Oaks High School. "It supplements exactly what we want to do."

A small group of students at Thousand Oaks High is enthusiastically working to get its own club off the ground, Bliss said.

Bliss first learned of Hein's effort about two years ago and has been really impressed with what she is trying to do, she said.

"I think kids really want to connect with each other," she said, "and sometimes it's not easy to know how, and this is a good way for them to learn."

On the Net:

http://www.teensforhumanity.org.

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