Bolingbrook Organization Helps Keeps the Cuffs Off Kids

For more than a decade, JoAnn Robinson has played an active role in reforming local teens in an effort to keep them out of trouble.

As founder, director and driving force behind the non-profit H.E.A.R.T. (Helping, Enriching, Advising, Reaching and Teaching) Organization, Robinson has worked with the Will County court system to direct kids onto a law abiding path by helping them look inward and move forward, out of trouble.

In , underage youth (ages 12-18) who have pleaded guilty to minor legal infractions are ordered to attend the H.E.A.R.T. program, which doles out a unique type of intervention.

"We help misguided kids safely cross the bridge of immaturity to maturity," Robinson said. "We teach them about respect and taking responsibility for their actions. We give them a feeling of being needed and wanted—without that they’re traveling a road that’s going to take them straight to the jailhouse."

Robinson’s style, a mix of drill sergeant, teacher and comedian delivers educational enrichment by balancing positive attention and discipline. Upon arrival, a fresh crop of students are given three weeks to memorize a five-line mantra or face early expulsion from the program.

It states:

I am committed to: "Accepting the consequences of my actions that have brought me to this program. I have only myself to blame!"

I am committed to: "Leaving this program wiser, smarter and more responsible, than when I arrived!"

I am committed to: "Learning and understanding all I can about negative actions, bad choices, juvenile law and how my crime affects so many others!"

I am committed to: "Believing in myself, keeping my head up and not giving up when I make a mistake!"

I am committed to: “My success in life!!!"

Pam Morgan, a volunteer for the program since its inception, said Robinson is no joke.

“She doesn’t accept excuses,” Morgan said. “It’s not easy in here, but kids learn how much harder it will be out there if they keep being hard heads and end up in the prison system."

Offenders who are enrolled follow a rigid structure, governed by numerous rules and regulations. Most vigilantly enforced is the dress code—a clean white shirt and black pants, the correct way to address elders, Robinson says; addressing elders as yes sir or yes mam; looking the person straight in the eyes; proper stance; no slouching, shoulders back with hands folded behind; and an insistence on preparation.

All instruction is tailored for age appropriateness and helps teens understand the consequences of their actions and how to function as positive members of society.

Each session is operated out of the , and spans 13 weeks.

Parents find they are not left out of the mix—parental involvement is paramount to each student’s success, Robinson said. They even must mandatorily attend a special class that aids them in keeping their child on the right track. 

Speakers who have volunteered to address students run the gamut from police chiefs to lawyers to judges and ex-convicts, each volunteering their time because they share a great appreciation for the work of the H.E.A.R.T. Organization.

“Critical to the overwhelming success of the Heart Organization is its dynamic and charismatic Director JoAnn Robinson,” 12 Judicial Circuit Judge Raymond Nash. “Ms. Robinson’s highly disciplined approach to administering each less in character development combines the quintessential ingredient of positive reinforcement, resulting in a highly effective teaching discipline more commonly referred to as tough love."

Chief Kevin McCarthy is firm believer in the importance of Robinson's societal contribution.

"She is a wonderful lady and I’m a big fan of JoAnn’s. I admire the work she does and the dedication and compassion for the kids she works with,” McCarthy said.

Not only does the program offer valuable life lessons, successful completion is accompanied by leniency in the court system with a recommendation from Robinson that the offense be expunged from the student’s record.

"None of us are perfect people," Robinson said. "My prayer for these kids is that they can find it in themselves to break the cycle they are in. When we get to graduation I always say the same thing to them. Hopefully you will all leave here better young ladies and better young men. We all make mistakes. This is your chance to move on."

To learn more about the program or how you can help by volunteering call 630-226-8742 or visit www.theheartprogram.org.