ORLANDO, Fla. -- Taking Central Florida's young adults and keeping them on a positive direction toward success -- that's the goal of a mentoring program that uses Orlando Police Department officers.
- 'Operation Positive Direction' helps teens strive for success
- Orlando PD officers act as mentors for the program
- Program is completely volunteer-run
The program is called "Operation Positive Direction.”
"I grew up here in the Parramore area, Pine Hills area. I went to Jones High School, where I was in the marching band. I was a drum major for two years," said Officer Darius Barker, who is a newly sworn in member of Orlando Police Dept.
When Barker was growing up, he was a hard worker but grew up like a lot of other young adults do.
"Going from middle school to high school, you get in those phases where you don't want to listen to your parents anymore," he said. "And it just takes somebody else just to explain, 'Hey, you should do this, so this could happen.’"
That "somebody" is Master Police Officer and SWAT officer Andrew Bishop, who is a mentor with Operation Positive Direction.
"Darius was very charismatic at Jones High School and a leader," Bishop said.
The two met while MPO Bishop was a School Resource Officer at Jones High. He said that charisma and leadership is what made him realize Barker was a perfect fit for the program.
"If we continue them on a path, on a positive path, I think that's what Operation Positive Direction is," MPO Bishop added.
The young people in Operation Positive Direction do everything from visit college campuses nationwide, as well as help their community.
"Just a couple of weeks ago, we were at Second Harvest Food Bank, where we were putting boxes together for families who needed food," said Detective Joseph Lundy, who coordinates the program. "As a whole, we want to teach young people the importance of giving back as well."
Now a sworn OPD officer, Barker can't forget the motto of Operation Positive Direction.
"Actions that we do now or take now will always affect our future,” he recited.
The officers who are mentors in this program volunteer their time. This is not something they get paid to do. For them, the reward is seeing the success stories.