May 2016—St. Kitts—Miguel Gumbs, 18, answers to the nickname Ezzy because he has a new approach to life: He takes it easy. However, that was not always the case.

“Everyone used to call me Danger. I was a live wire—very dangerous,” he explains as he reminisces about his former life selling drugs, skipping school and getting into trouble.

“I was young, going to school. I wasn’t working anywhere, and I realized that I could get money fast. I used to get the drugs off me fast, so I used to get the money fast. So they kept bringing drugs to me and I kept working for them. You couldn’t tell me anything and I wouldn’t do something to you, but I cut out all of that.”

In 2013, Gumbs’s lifestyle caught up with him and he was sentenced to three years in jail for drug possession. Due to juvenile justice reform efforts supported by USAID, Gumbs was able to serve the last two years at New Horizons Juvenile Rehabilitation Center—a facility for youth who have been in conflict with the law—instead of in jail.

New Horizons provides counseling, skills training and educational opportunities for troubled youth before they are reintegrated into their communities.

“Many of our residents just did not have a childhood,” said Gumbs's counselor, Zahra Jacob. “They got ‘adultified’ so early, whether by sexual behavior, gang violence or by having to provide money for their parents. New Horizons cannot bring back their childhood, but it can remind them that their roles are not that of adults. We hope to rewind the clock a bit, so that when they go home, there is a reminder that there is something else besides what they had before.”

While at New Horizons, Gumbs learned electrical skills, focused on his art, and completed some high school exams. He loves technology and is hoping get a job in this area. He dreams of opening a computer business in the future.

Most importantly, his interests and demeanor have changed. He no longer picks fights or is confrontational. The center has also counseled Gumbs’s family so he can be easily reintegrated into a healthy home.

“I am glad to be here. I have come a long way and I have changed a lot,” he says. “If I were out in the streets, I would not have made it this far. I don’t plan to turn back since I will disappoint a lot of people.”

In March, Gumbs was released from the center. He plans to continue taking his exams and to be a role model for others. He knows going back to his old neighborhood will be difficult, but he is not the same person he once was.

“Change is within you, you have to rehabilitate yourself,” says Gumbs. “New Horizons cannot rehabilitate you. You have to tell yourself, 'I got a second chance in life, I need to go out there and do my best and not look at the past.'”

The New Horizons Juvenile Rehabilitation Center operates under USAID’s Juvenile Justice Reform Program in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The program strengthens the juvenile justice system in all six independent countries of the OECS by supporting reform of the legal framework, building the capacity of the justice sector, promoting the use of diversion and alternative sentencing options, and reforming detention processes to focus on rehabilitation of youth in conflict with the law. The program seeks to modernize approaches for treatment of at-risk youth in all the territories, and ultimately bring the region’s juvenile justice system in line with international standards. The four-year program ends on June 30, 2016.

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