MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The City of Myrtle Beach created a Youth Services Coordinator position in 2016 to focus on helping at-risk teens and get them involved in recreation activities.

Ja’Net Wade got the job and News13 followed up to find out what has been accomplished over the past year.

“[One of] my goals within these years is to see some changes in their grades and especially in their behavior,” said Wade when News13 spoke with her in 2016.

Since then, Wade created a group called Mary C. Canty Life-Long Impacted Teens (MCC LIT) and has taken the group on tours of USC, HGTC and the Boeing Plant in Charleston.

“We’re just trying to get them to the next level,” said Wade. “The buzz is getting around, kids are enjoying it and they’re starting to get into really what this is about.”

The teens meet five days a week and their activities range from study hall and tutoring to working out at the Mary C. Canty weight room.

“They have a lot of energy,” said assistant and mentor, Malik Williams. “That’s the task, is getting that energy to go towards something positive because, if not guided right, that energy could go towards the wrong things and we don’t want that to happen.”

Over the past year, the teens participated in community service events and worked at the Seafood and Jazz Festivals, but mentors say it’s more than being involved.

“Also, just being someone there for them when they need somebody after school. Somebody to talk to,” said mentor and CCU student, Eldreonna Hannah.

However, there were some events in the community this year that forced Wade to improvise.

When a woman and her unborn baby were killed in September, Wade took the group of teens to the subsequent “Stop the Violence” rally in Myrtle Beach.

“We’d been discussing it because, for a lot of these teens, it’s happening right in their community,” said Wade. “They see a lot of different things we don’t see as adults that are going on in their community and they really want to make a change.”

Wade is looking forward to the next year as two of the teens are preparing for college and one is preparing for the military.

Teens looking to get involved or adults looking to mentor the teens can get in touch with Ja’Net Wade at the Mary C. Canty Recreation Center 843-918-1477.