The Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches has been improving the lives of at-risk children
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1546265
Office vehicles and let the kids explore the equipment. Soon the pine trees rang with the sounds of sirens, car horns, and voices on loudspeakers. "Everything we do is for safety," Deputy Gonzalez said. "We have to build trust with them so they don't just see us enforcing the law, they see us on their level." Deputy Gonzalez is a School Resource Officer for his county, and he met one of his students at camp. Kailyn is on the Safety Patrol back home, and she enjoyed seeing her SRO at camp handing out stickers, answering questions, and spending time with the campers. CARUTH CAMP - INGLIS, FLORIDA Over at Caruth Camp, deputies from Charlotte County were holed up in the arts and crafts building for a rainy-day session of Challenge Course. The campers were tasked with moving a marble through a series of tubes to get it across the room and into a bucket. The challenge? There weren't enough tubes for one continuous trip. Soon the room was alive with suggestions and squeals of excitement as campers and deputies stood elbow to elbow, each holding a piece of the track and getting ready to run to the end of the line. When the marble jumped the track and clattered to the floor, the line dissolved into groans of disappointment. "Slow and steady wins the race!" one of the counselors called out. As the girls reset to try again, they used everything they'd learned during the previous attempts. They communicated, slowed down, and listened to their teammates for direction. When the marble finally tipped into the bucket, the line exploded into cheers. School Resource Deputy Gonzalez lets a camper try on a tactical helmet during the Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office law demo at Florida Sheriffs Youth Camp. Charlotte County Deputy T.J. (back center) helps a group of campers at Caruth Camp get the "radioactive ball" (a marble) from one end of the room to the other with a series of tubes. The whole group worked together to roll the marble into a waiting bucket. 6 T H E R A N C H E R FA L L 2 0 2 6