OPSO honors 39 local youth for completing Young Marines mentoring program

Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman presided over the graduation of 39 local youth who have participated in the OPSO’s award-winning Young Marines Program.

In 2014, the program celebrated its 49th year of successfully implementing youth education and service program for boys and girls ages eight through the completion of high school.

The OPSO’s Young Marines chapter was the 2012 winner of the Department of Defense’s Fulcrum Shield Award for Excellence in Youth Anti-Drug Programs. The award recognizes efforts by the OPSO Young Marines to spread an anti-drug message to other youths in New Orleans.

The Young Marines Program aims to provide alternatives for youths by seeking to instill a sense of pride in themselves, their community and their country. Program participants, along with the assistance of adult staff members, help to police their own ranks, which provides an opportunity for them to develop self-discipline, leadership and motivation.

This article originally published in the February 2, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.