They are also provided with regular training sessions. Hundreds of Texas youth get into trouble with the law every year. A very small percentage of all youth who are arrested eventually are committed to the Texas Youth Commission. TYC volunteers are invaluable in helping these youth develop a healthier attitude toward themselves and other members of society, and in helping youth accept accountability for their crimes. Volunteers are unselfish men and women who often do for youth what the professional worker is unable to do because of time and manpower limitations.
Volunteers give their time, their talents, and their willingness to listen.
They serve as positive role models. Some volunteers visit institutions and halfway houses helping with tutoring, Bible study and holiday events. Others provide education, counseling, companionship and support to teenagers after they are released from TYC facilities, when they return to their home communities on parole. They need additional moral support and friendship to overcome the problems that contributed to their delinquency and resulted in commitment to the state juvenile correction agency. In every community where the Texas Youth Commission has youth in residential programs or on parole, volunteers can participate in a TYC volunteer council, which meets monthly and provides goods and resources for these youth.