“Last fall, I was in Rikers Island for two months. I went through a lot. I got jumped twice, pepper sprayed by Corrections Officers, and strip searched. At Rikers, I was treated like an animal. In the end, I was fortunate though. My lawyer advocated for me not to be at Rikers Island, and that is what led me to Leake & Watts.”

Troy came to Leake & Watts when he was 16. It was not the first program he’d been in but it was the first that helped him learn to control his temper, make better decisions and direct his energy to achieving positive goals.

“Therapy is helping me redirect my anger. It has helped me to find my triggers, see the cues, and to remind me of what I want —  my long-term goals. Now, I know how to remind myself of what I want in the future and that helps keep me calm.”

It was not the first program he’d been in but it was the first that helped him learn to control his temper, make better decisions and direct his energy to achieving positive goals.

Right now, Troy is focused on his short-term goal — graduating from high school. His long-term goals are to join the Air Force and eventually become a commercial airline pilot.

“It’s good to be around other kids who are learning how to make the right choices to better their lives, too. The program pulls us together. We put aside problems that we may have from the outside and become friends. We all look out for one another and support each other.

“I don’t see myself making the same mistakes again. I’m going to make better choices. I know now that life on the streets is not the way to have a life, a family, a future. I am more than that. I am more than one bad decision that I made one day.”