Jackson woman creates outreach for incarcerated, at-risk youth

Jan. 14--JACKSON TWP. -- In biology, metamorphosis is the astonishing process by which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly.

It's also a good description for what has become the life work of Cheryl Langford: Reducing the recidivism rate of juvenile offenders through education and vocational training, life skills and employment.

Langford is the founder of Meta-Morphosis, a nonprofit, comprehensive outreach program she offers to young men ages 18 to 21 who are incarcerated in Ohio Department of Youth Services' three juvenile detention facilities in Circleville, Cleveland Heights and Indian River in Massillon.

Langford said Meta-Morphosis stems from a visit she made to Faircrest back in 1998, when she was hosting a weekly radio show on WCER-AM 900.

"What happened when I went in, overwhelmed me," she recalled. "I saw the pain. I saw the fear."

A committed Catholic, Langford says she felt led by God to do something.

"I saw a need ... when I went in there, my heart was just overwhelmed," she recalled.

In response, Langford composed a 1,500-page curriculum proposal. Shortly thereafter, she crossed paths with a member of a committee appointed by then-Gov. Ted Strickland to address juvenile delinquency recidivism. She said she was invited to give a PowerPoint presentation to the larger committee.

In 2007, Meta-Morphosis became one of 10 pilot programs chosen by the state. Langford taught classes at Multi County Juvenile Detention Center in Canton Township.

Then the recession hit.

Bridge needed

"In 2008, we were one of two left, then it was just me, but then, they couldn't afford me," she said.

For four years, the program laid dormant. Then, Langford said she received an email in 2012 from Gov. John Kasich's office, inquiring about the program, but no funds were committed.

"I told them, 'I can't wait for your money any more,'" she said. "I went into Indian River on my own dime."

Today, Meta-Morphosis is a 501C-3 nonprofit, which offers four modules of study -- spiritual, physical, cognitive and civic -- consisting of a total of 126 classes totaling 182 hours of education.

"They (cover) every facet of a human being," Langford said.

A native of Youngstown, Langford described her own childhood as "bad," but declined to offer details.

"In every community, there is drugs and violence and anger," she said. "The country does not have a bridge to take people out of poverty today."

Ohio Department of Youth Services Director Harvey Reed said he appreciates people like Langford, who are willing to help.

"From her passion to meeting needs, and her determination to make Meta-Morphosis as beneficial as possible, one can see that Ms. Langford uses her time and talent to lead an organization that helps young people at a critical time," Reed said in a statement. "It is also worth noting that Ms. Langford is an active participant of the Ohio Ex-Offender Re-entry Coalition/Juvenile Branch."

Langford said not enough boys have structure or a relationship with their fathers, noting that she's only met one incarcerated youth who had a father in the home.

"When you don't have a dad, and your mom has to work, and you're coming from a place that has no boundaries, then you end up in the Department of Youth Services, which is all about boundaries," she said.

"Welfare is slavery"

The centerpiece of Meta-Morphosis is its re-entry program. Langford said these men who participate must agree to a number of terms including no further infractions, a commitment to independent living, and no government support.

"In my estimation, welfare is social slavery," she said, bluntly.

The program also offers assistance to non-incarcerated young adults, and certifications in job skills such as forklift operation, commercial truck driving, financial education, interview skills, and completion of a GED if necessary.

Re-entry participants are given help in finding work and securing identification, including driver's licenses. The program also provides six weeks' worth of help, including securing a place to stay, furnishings, food and free bus passes.

Participants also are required to set aside savings so they can purchase their own cars.

"It takes me another year to get them stable," Langford said.

"It's helped me in a lot of ways," John Pierce said of the program. "She moved me from Cleveland to Canton after Indian River, and gave me a home and rides to and from work for months so I could get a car. I didn't get my car in time, but she never really stops helping anyone. I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Cheryl, and I can also say that for a lot of the other boys she has in her program."

Pierce, who served two years Indian River but is now working, noted that many of young men Langford helps don't have traditional families. He said Langford has created one for them through the program.

"She gets all of us together for the holidays, and celebrates," he said. "I've watched her program grow over the last four years, and I know that it is going to grow more; I have a feeling. How Cheryl has helped me is a hard question to answer, because she has helped in so many ways. How hasn't she helped would be a shorter answer from me."

Langford said many well-meaning programs fail because they fail to remove people from their environments. She cited one Meta-Morporhosis re-entry student, a father of two, who was working full-time but who needed help with daycare.

"He was told (by an agency) to quit his job and he could get daycare," she said. "What they're saying is, 'If you're poor, we can help you.'"

The Rev. Darleen Moss, a longtime friend and Meta-Morphosis board member, said Langford has "uncommon dedication."

"When we first met, she talked about Meta-Morphosis as something God gave her," Moss said. "She dedicated herself to do it even when she didn't have a means to do it or a way to do it."

A retired Canton City Schools educator, Moss said Langford is teaching young people life skills that many schools no longer offer.

"She's not a give up type person," Moss said of Langford. "Even when some of the young people would get fired for their jobs, she'd get them another job. She never gave up. She'd pick them up and take them to work until they could get their own car.

"She's had to get them out of a lot of scrapes."

Langford claims a recidivism rate of 18.75 percent. Of the 16 young men who completed the reentry program, just three have been re-arrested.

Shawn Deitrich said meeting Langford nearly five years ago, changed his life.

"I wasn't in corrections, but I kept in touch with friend who was in at Indian River," he said. "He mentioned Cheryl's name and told me what her program was about."

Deitrich said that and his friend enrolled in Meta-Morphosis' re-entry program, which also accepts non-incarcerated youth.

"She got us started and on our feet," he said.

Today, Deitrich is a supervisor at a local company. He credits Langford's commitment, faith, and tenacity in helping him to get his life on track.

"It's her," he said. "She doesn't have a large group of people. She was always in your head trying, to figure out what you were thinking, and trying to put you in a positive mind frame. A lot of kids have never had that.

"She's a good person to be around. I wouldn't be where I'm at without her."

Relationships

So, how does a white woman from the suburbs manage to reach delinquents, many of whom are minorities, and almost all of whom grew up poor?

"They know when somebody is conning them, and when somebody cares," Langford said with a smile. "It has everything to do with relationships. "

Moss said she recently met several of the youth at a holiday dinner Langford hosted for them.

"I was touched see them singing praises to Cheryl," she said. "Many of them said they didn't know what they would have done if not for her."

Langford said many inmates don't get a single visitor. For that reason, Meta-Morphosis is starting a new visitation program, she said. Volunteers will be asked to commit to two visits a month.

"They're broken kids," she said. "We say, 'Those kids are thugs.' Well, what else could they be? We have a problem in the United States."

In 2008 , Ohio had 2,000 youth incarcerated, Langford said. Today, the number is closer to 500. Incarceration is now reserved for juveniles convicted of first and second-degree felonies. Those convicted of lesser charges are remanded to community-based programs.

Langford said it's her hope to introduce Meta-Morphosis to Illinois, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

"If I can continue to do what I'm doing, imagine the impact," she said.

"God gave it to her," Moss said. "But she also gave herself to God to do it."

To learn more visit www.mmjuvenileministry.org or call 330-768-7688, or 330-631-2597.

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