In April, PESA—Parents, Educators/Teachers and Students in Action notched its eighth anniversary. Looking back to the nonprofit's inception, founder and executive director Seymour Amster says the organization has grown in ways that even he could not have predicted. That's due, at least in part, to the adherence of one of PESA's core values: To serve the community, especially youth, in whatever way necessary—and when no one else will.
That ethos has been the guiding principal behind some of PESA's crowning achievements, most importantly creating programs to mentor and tutor youth, transform youthful offenders through PESA diversion programs, and assist students with disabilities.
Prior to 2013, Amster had not envisioned himself running a community-based nonprofit. He graduated with a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School in 1982 and enjoyed success initially working for a law firm specializing in family and bankruptcy law. Amster only began to specialize in criminal cases by happenstance. "My father didn't want me to become a criminal lawyer… but one day they didn't have anyone to handle a criminal case and they asked me if I would do it…and at some point, I became the lead criminal attorney.”
Amster began to conceptualize forming PESA during his time as an officer of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association and eventually its president. “The year before I became president,” says Amster, “I caused the bar association to sponsor law posts in various high schools in the San Fernando Valley and became very supportive of the SHADES (Stop Hate and Delinquency by Empowering Students) program by arranging transportation for the students to attend the sessions held at the Museum of Tolerance in West Los Angeles.”
Within the bar association, Amster also formed the Horace Mann Committee, named after the father of the public education system in the United States, to get schools in the San Fernando Valley to have the unique opportunity to tour a courthouse. "I realized from my experience with the bar that there was a gap in the educational system that I could help fill by creating a nonprofit. That is initially why PESA was created.” says Amster.
Initially, PESA's role was limited, but it quickly expanded. "PESA was just going to do the field trips to the courthouses, but two things came at us after the formation," says Amster. First, the Superior Court, which administers the Teen Court Program, approached him asking for the support of a nonprofit. “Initially, they told me that our role would just be to support the school Teen Court clubs and receive funds to help under-served youth participate in the many programs, so I agreed,” Amster recalls.
PESA’s role with Teen Court soon expanded after legislation required law enforcement rather than probation officers to make direct referrals to community-based organizations. “At that point, I decided that PESA was truly going to become the community-based organization of Teen Court and build an infrastructure to supervise and provide in-house services to the youth,” he says. “Initially we just started with monitoring the youth and making sure that their diversion conditions were being completed. Eventually, however, we discovered that some of the counseling services being offered did not meet the PESA standards, so we gradually decided to help more clients in-house by partnering with social workers."
PESA was asked to formalize the relationship with Teen Court and an MOU was formed to make PESA the only community-based organization to support the Teen Court program. Now, after eight years of continued success supporting Teen Court, the program's future is uncertain. The continued push in Los Angeles County to eliminate law enforcement and the judiciary from youth diversion has jeopardized key components of the Teen Court program. “The fight to save Teen Court,” warns Amster, “is maybe at its riskiest moment right now.”
Regardless, PESA itself is alive and thriving. And although PESA believes in the Teen Court program wholeheartedly, it has developed many programs in addition to Teen Court. Its wealth of services provided to those in marginalized communities is unmatched. PESA's mentorship and educational support for transitional-age youth is transformative, its response to meet the needs of the community is lightening quick and encompassing. PESA is here to stay, and will continue growing to make a difference in our community.