A $2 million Department of Labor grant has been awarded to the Ute Mountain Ute tribe for the continuation of the successful Youth Opportunity Program.

Now in its second year, the outreach program targets at-risk reservation youths, guiding them to higher education, job training and positive group activities in the program’s recreation center.

Thirty-six communities were awarded $204 million across the country. Rural and inner cities received the funding, as did Indian reservations. The Navajo and Pine Ridge tribes were each awarded $4 million this year for similar programs.

"The grants are early-intervention funds to build our 21st century work force," said U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. "For our country to be prepared, we can’t afford to let at-risk youth slip through our fingers."

The fledgling program on the Ute Mountain reservation was re-funded because it has been successful and is growing, said director Tina Galyon.

"We’ve remodeled the center so that kids have a safe place to hang out, play pool, listen to music, all while being influenced by our very positive and dedicated staff of counselors," Galyon said.

So far, 181 youths between 14 and 21 years of age are participating in the program. Troubled kids team up with counselors who help them to consider their future, whether it involves re-enrolling in high school, finding employment, undergoing job training or simply goal-setting in a positive environment.

"Kids feel comfortable here and that has been our main success, because they are opening up to us about their lives," Galyon said. "They do not want to hear, ‘You’re a bad kid.’ Instead, they realize we are here to help, not to put them in another category."

Just as with many other American kids, planning for the future is not always a high priority for Ute Mountain youths. The problem is heightened on the reservation, which has an unemployment rate of about 30 percent. To counter the trend, eight teachers and administrators were hired with the Department of Labor funds to offer guidance.

One teenager in the Ute program is suffering from an unstable family life, was expelled from school and had been in and out of jail, Galyon recalled. But after spending some time in the program, he has enrolled in summer school and has a better attitude.

"It’s amazing what comes out when kids are given attention they need," she said.

Another problem is that Ute students, who attend the Re-1 school system in Cortez, have a higher-than-average drop-out rate. To help, the tribal council this year passed a new truancy law submitted by the youth program that has lowered absenteeism in class.

"We’re bringing our youth together, and showing them that Cortez is a part of their community as well as the reservation," Galyon said.

Motivated youths are also accommodated. The Youth Opportunity Program helped to send Elias Lehi to Australia for a wrestling competition, and has assisted Amy Hammond to enter and attend a national science fair where she took top honors.

Plans for the program include working to preserve cultural heritage. A project highlighting the well-known Ute Mountain wedding baskets is in the works. Ute artists create the ceremonial items from reeds harvested in Allen Canyon, Utah, as they have for centuries.

"Reconnecting our kids with our elders and all they know about art and language is critical, so that will be coming up as well," Galyon said.