Tuesday afternoon youngsters held at the Warren County Youth Detention Center got to spend time with their families.

The program was the idea of Maggie Roberts, the case manager at the detention center, who wanted to bring a bit of the holiday to the young people who wouldn’t be able to be with their parents and families for the long weekend.

“I know that some of the juveniles are being held in detention over the holidays, so I decided to have this luncheon for them to have a chance to spend time with their loved ones, and to give them a ray of hope that I know they made a mistake but this is not the end, and to use this situation as something to learn from.”

The youngsters and their families had a buffet-style lunch in the detention center’s classroom, and also heard from Mayor George Flaggs Jr., who told them to take their experience at the detention center and use it as a tool to affect change.

“When you leave here, learn from this and work to make a difference. Anyone who tells you they never made a mistake is a liar,” he said. “You take that mistake and learn from it and don’t do it again.”

He told the young people to find someone they can look up to, whether it is someone in the family or neighborhood; “Someone you can call on to help you when you need it,” and invited them to call him once they were released.

“Let no one tell you you can’t be whatever you want to be,” he said. “Never lower your goals.”