Profile of Judge Carter

Joseph Bell really captured the spirit of Judge David Carter (Orange County Life, Jan. 16).

Parents Who Care and the PTA of Corona del Mar had a drug and alcohol program that brought Judge Carter to our school. The audience was spellbound as they listened to three inmates from prison relate their stories to the student body.

Along the same lines of bruised kids, I recently found myself at Juvenile Hall, where I am working in photography to bring attention to some of the needs of these teens in detention. I had a sense of many of these young people being in a pivotal part of their lives that can really go in any direction and that some kind of interest shown to them really could matter a lot.

The Friday before going to Juvenile Hall, I attended a presentation on the Mary Magdalene Project. One sentence that stuck with me was the comment by the director, Linda Culbertson. She said, “Sometimes, all it takes for these women who come to us to have taken another direction than prostitution would have been that someone offered them respite, or showed genuine caring for their welfare, at an earlier stage in their lives.”

Then to read the Judge Carter story and to think of all the people whose lives have changed because he didn’t just talk about it but followed through with his actions. Wow!

If there are other readers who feel they would like to be involved in an opportunity at Juvenile Hall, I’d like to suggest they ask about the VIP program. It stands for Volunteers in Probation.

PEGGY DARNELL

Corona del Mar