The Camp Community Transition Placement (CCTP) unit within the Probation Department is proud of their interaction with the families of the communities they serve. This project is directed at Probation families. When a member of the family is on Probation, families often suffer financial hardship. "We go to visit families, parents in their home, to develop relationships with the family. If there is a need for a holiday basket, we are there to help,” explained DPO Miller. Everyone in CCTP unit participates in the food baskets/turkey give away when someone in the unit says a family has a need, we fill that need.
CCTP supervisor, SDPO Michael Alan, spearheaded this program approximately eight years ago. "It is very rewarding for all of us to be able to give to the families we serve. We have a partnership with PV Jobs, which assists us in delivering baskets to those who cannot come to the office to pick up their basket and they also make phone calls asking families if they are in need of a basket."
This holiday season, CCTP gave out more than 800 turkeys, with help from PV Jobs, Community Build, and the Sam Simon Foundation, which partners with Probation to help distribute the turkey baskets getting food to the most desperate family who may have a family member on Probation. CCTP also reaches out directly to the most needy families in hopes that no one on Probation comes to us after the holiday and say they did not have a holiday dinner.
DPO James Blanton with the CCTP unit at the Centinela Area Office is very active in this program and has a special connection in giving Children's Hospital toys for the kids. Two years ago, DPO Blanton noticed one of the youngsters he was supervising at Camp was sitting in a corner crying. When DPO Blanton asked him what was wrong, he told him his younger brother was at Children's Hospital sick with cancer and he wanted to visit him. DPO Blanton went to work and was able to get the judge to grant this young man an opportunity to visit his sick brother at Children's Hospital.
Tragically this young child passed away. DPO Blanton was also able to have the brother in Camp attend the funeral. DPO Blanton's actions with this young man seemed to change his attitude for the better. Additionally, DPO Blanton having visited his younger brother so many times at Children's Hospital noticed that most of the children there were under 3 years old and he began bringing toys to these children a project which he now continues especially at Christmas.
