Volunteers mentor youthful offenders in jail - WAFF-TV: News, Weather and Sports for Huntsville, AL

Sergeant Betty Davey goes to work at the jail every morning at 7 a.m. sharp.

She's a supervisor at the Madison County Detention Center in Huntsville.

"I come in Monday through Friday, but of course on Wednesdays and Tuesdays, we have group session," Davey said.

Those group sessions help Davey get through her tough job. On top of her supervisor duties, Davey oversees a mentoring program for teens who are serving time on adult charges. Some are as young as 16-years-old.

"While they're in here, I push education. Education is number one. You know most of these youthful offenders do not have their GED," Davey said.

But the Life Light program that Davey leads allows a group of youthful offenders to take the test before they're released.

"Mom and dad can't take care of this anymore. They have to have to stand on their own two feet," she said.

Colleagues close to Davey said society has given up on these young convicts, but Davey gives them a chance.

An inmate, whose identity remains anonymous because he is a minor, said he appreciates Davey's dedication.

"It helped a lot. It made me feel like I can do something in my life. Like I get a second chance when I get home," he said.

Life Light operates on a volunteer basis. Davey welcomes any volunteers who want to mentor the teens in becoming a responsible adult.

Davey also hopes the youthful offenders involved in the program will feel like they accomplished something for their future and that their time in jail wasn't a waste.

"I want them to understand that they could be a valuable person in the community and that they could be very productive in the community," Davey said.

Even as a mother figure at the detention center, Davey said she never wants to see her boys again. She knows she did something right if they don't come back.

"Just out of me knowing and hoping that they are going on with their life and that I don't have to ever see them in here again, which that's a success to me," she said.

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