DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A local therapist is working to change the future of the greater Daytona Beach community, by giving them healthy outlets for their emotions and showing them what good choices will get them.

On Monday morning, inside Hangar 15, a trampoline park, 17-year-old Uriah Taylor had the time of his life.

“It is really fun with trampolines, it is different,” said Taylor, who was attending a Christmas party. 

This is not an average Christmas party. Instead it's a way for a local mentor Derrick Collins, who runs the Mr. and Mrs. Mentoring program, to connect with kids in the area who need help the most.

“Doing good things gets rewarded with good things. Bad behavior, they don’t get a chance to come to these kinds of things, they have to kind of earn it,” said Collins, who has held this party for the last three years. 

He helps dozens of kids in underserved areas in Volusia County deal with their behavioral and mental health issues that could send them on a bad path. 

“I usually got so angry at the point where I would start fighting,” said Taylor, reflecting on why he was referred to the program. 

Along with working with the kids one-on-one in therapy, Collins works to expose the kids to good things in the community they might not get to experience otherwise. He also makes sure they have food, clothes, fun activities and also presents at Christmas. 

“We try to catch them before they get to that point that they need that outlet and they don’t have anywhere to go to," Collins said. "If we are not catching them, that is when the streets are catching them whether its drugs, whether it is violence and gangs, you know we are trying to catch them before they get to that point."

Collins was shaken up by the recent rise in violence in Daytona Beach and worries about the effects it has on the youth.

According to Daytona Beach police, homicides are up 75% from 2018. 58 people have been shot so far this year, 61% more than in years past. Collins claims much of this is going on in areas where these kids live. 

"If they are out in the community, they are seeing what is going on out in the community so it's kind of like what they see is what they are attracted to," said Collins.

"That is why I try to do as many things where they are seeing different things outside of the community, things that they are not used to seeing," he added.

For Kyla Cord, that is a major concern. She explained she was unhappy with what her son Uriah was being exposed to. 

“Stealing cars, selling drugs and it is starting younger with kids in elementary," said Cord. 

She was worried he’d be influenced to follow a similar path to those around him, which is why she got him working with Collins who gave him outlets to deal with his emotions. 

“I didn’t want him to be another statistic, especially by him having autism,” said Cord, explaining that he might make the wrong choices in an effort to fit in. 

Since joining the program, she has seen him make a change. 

“Being able to stay calmer for longer and tolerate other people, mainly my siblings,” said Taylor, proud of the effort he has made.

By taking kids by the hand and showing them all the good things they can have by staying on the right path and making good decisions, Collins hopes he is not only changing the future of the children, but of the community as well.

“You can do better than what your atmosphere is showing you that you can be,” said Collins.

For more information about Mr. & Ms. Mentoring, including how to get involved, click here​.