Apache County Superior Court Judge Michael Lathem and Apache County Supervisor Doyel Shamley introduced the first re-purposed juvenile detention facility project in their county to the County Supervisors Association Board of Directors last week.
The new community center for teens called The Loft, is located in St. John’s and was open in October of this year. The repurposed juvenile the detention center now serves all high school students in Saint Johns and surrounding areas.
Prior to the repurposing of the facility, the juvenile detention center cost the county $1.2 million annually and there was an average daily population of just 1.7 juveniles. Now the county contracts with Pinal County to house juveniles that need to be placed in detention.
The remodeled center does have an intake and temporary holding area plus 23-hour respite, stabilization, and the assessment rooms that provide juveniles in crisis an alternative to detention.
The center also works to engage local teens in a productive way through music, community college access, art, video and audio editing.