History of Lonesome Pine Office on Youth
Since its inception in 1980, the Lonesome Office on Youth has been conceiving, developing and implementing delinquency prevention and youth development educational programs in Wise County and the City of Norton. In 1997, the Lonesome Pine Office on Youth expanded to include Lee and Scott Counties. During the past 35 years, the Office on Youth has been inst
rumental in the development of over fifty-five educational programs and /or services based on its Delinquency Prevention and Youth Development Plan. The fact that forty of the fifty programs are still alive after 35 years offers evidence of longevity and value to the communities those programs serve. During this time, the Lonesome Pine Office on Youth conducted over one thousand five hundred (1,500) public education programs based on problems identified in its Needs Assessment and Six-Year Plan. This also included over five million dollars that have been received through grant writing for various programs and projects. Over 3,000 volunteers have donated over 68,000 hours to various programs and projects coordinated by the Office on Youth for a financial advantage to the community worth over $1,209,720. In addition to that, the astronomical amount of money brought to and kept in these communities through grant writing and the encouragement of volunteerism is far beyond what could be reasonably expected of any agency. This agency has served the Lenowisco area well for more than 35 years and has directed the community to a forward-looking vision amid changing times in this corner of Virginia. The Lonesome Pine Office on Youth has a distinguished history of meeting the training and educational needs of our community. Below is just a small sample of some of the programs Lonesome Pine Office on Youth has been responsible for over the past 25 years;
1. REAL (Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning) (A course offered in high schools, community colleges, and community based organizations guides students through the process of creating small businesses of their own design.)
2. Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies Coalition (education for new mothers)
3. Operation YES (Youth Employment Service)
4. Parents Anonymous Program (P.A.) The Guest River Gorge Exploratorium Program ( education public focus on science)
6. Coalfield County CADRE (substance abuse education)
7. Established college credit class for teachers in areas of substance abuse, adolescents, juvenile delinquency.
8. Established Child Abuse Prevention Month Activities (50,000)
9. Place mats distributed to area restaurants, 20,000 report card inserts, and public service announcements)
10. "Looking Back: Wise County in the Early Years" -The Pictorial Project (258 pg. History) (educate youth in areas of local history, film development, darkroom chemicals and book publishing,.)
11. Family Crisis Support Services (HOPE House) (educate families in crisis in areas of family management, stress management, anger management and budgeting.)
12. Wise County Norton City Youth Resource-Protection Council (multidisciplinary team)
13. Appalachian Wilderness Adventure Project (A. W.A.P.) (education for youth in cooperation with Wise County schools in team work, problem solving, management skills and plans for future.)
14. Volunteer Emergency Families for Children (VEFC)
15. The Food Bank of Wise County
16. The Lonesome Pine Shelter (Foster Home)
17. Coalfield Christmas Cooperative
18. Federal Emergency Management Program (FEMA)
19. Volunteers in Service for Families and Youth
20. Better Beginnings Project (Community education to reduce infant death)
21. CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate)
22. Community Service Work Program (educational community service program to get youth ready for the work force)
23. Project F.A.M.I.L.Y. (Foster home recruitment)
24. Professional Parent Services (Family Preservation Service) (educational program for parents – teaching basic parenting skills)
25. Parenting Wisely Program
26. Nurturing Parenting Program
27. Lee County Partners in Prevention (educational parent program for fathers)
28. ICARE ( Individuals & Communities for Adolescent Responsibility and Education)
29. WIA Camp Possibility (educational program for high risk youth getting ready to inter the work force)
30. T.R.A.C.K.E.R.S. (Trained & Recruited Assistant Case Managers Knowing Effective & Responsible Solutions) (Truancy program)
31. Mentor Program ( Tutoring)
32. Lee County Coalition on Youth and Alcohol (Educational program for youth involved in drugs or alcohol)
33. NIC Program ( Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation) (educational program fro youth involved with tobacco)
34. Life Skills Program
35. Breathe Easy Program
36. Families in Action Program
37. Active Parenting Program
38. Young Offender Initiative (tutoring, mentoring, parent help, for high risk very young children)
39. Graduated Sanctions
40. 21st Century Schools Community Learning Center (After school program Coeburn)
41. 21st Century Schools Community Learning Center (After school program Pound)
42. 21st Century Schools Community Learning Center (After school program Powell Valley)
43. Children’s Advocacy Center
44. Lee County Recovery House
45. Therapeutic Foster Care
46. Commonwealth Catholic Charities
47. Wallens Creek Water Shed Project
48. K.I.D.S. (Kids In Divorce and Separation) ( an educational program for divorced parents)
49. The United Way of Southwest VA
50. Lee County Pictorial History Book
51. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library – Wise
52. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library – Norton
53. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library - Lee
54. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library - Help with Dickenson
55. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library - Help with Scott
56. Youth Build
57. Music of Coal (Coal Camp Music CD)
The Lonesome Pine Office on Youth historically writes a grant for a program, gets it started, and then passes it on to another agency to keep it going. Always keeping in mind the needs of the community with our 6-year plan and needs assessment. The Lonesome Pine Office on Youth works closely with other agencies in the community such as Wise County Public Schools, Local courts, Social Services, Mental Health, Health Department, Park & Recreation, private schools, Community colleges, and Adult education to see that the entire communities needs are met.
