St. John hosted 55 young people and 14 parents on a one-of-a-kind family retreat sponsored by the U.S. Attorney’s Office last weekend.
The second annual Family Enrichment Weekend Retreat program called Parents and Children Together was sponsored by the U.S. Attorney’s Drug Demand Reduction/Education Subcommittee. The aim of the program, said U.S. Attorney James Hurd, is to provide families with methods of coping with problems that face families today.
"It costs substantially less for us as a community to work together to help families in crisis than it does to build more prisons to incarcerate them," Hurd said.
The three-day event, held at the V.I. Environmental Research Station at Lameshur Bay, featured workshops that taught parents how to establish relationships with their children, choices and consequences, achieving success at home and work, stress management, conflict resolution, the family and social changes, financial management and the dangers of drug and alcohol dependency.
The children at the retreat, who ranged in age from four to 16, also participated in workshops addressing issues at their respective age levels. Workshops were also held where kids and parents interacted, allowing stronger family bonds be built.
"This collaborative holistic approach with other agencies and individuals, to families in crisis," said Hurd, "is the only one of its kind in any of the 94 United States Attorneys Offices nationwide."
Families from St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John participated in the all-expense paid retreat, Hurd said.
This year’s retreat was dedicated to Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Wilfred Barry, Hurd said. Barry was not only a member of the Drug Demand Reduction/Education Subcommittee, Hurd said, but also a mentor to a young man who attended last year’s retreat.
"Marshal Barry taught us all the true meaning of giving totally of oneself," Hurd said, adding that because of Barry’s recent death from a heart attack, it was questioned whether the retreat should be held. "The answer was simply yes," Hurd said. "Barry would not have wanted it any other way. As a result, all of the participating families felt a special bond to Marshal Barry and many lives were touched."
