Station of Hope: Farewell to Crime

The Estación Esperanza project, in Estación Central, outside of Santiago, Chile, was born out of an attempt to turn children under 14 in the crime ridden area away from a life of delinquency (project team, left).

Before Estación Esperanza, the area of Estación Central (pop. 130,000 ) offered few opportunities to youth; children who were considered delinquent were stigmatized and punished in school.

Estación Esperanza was founded with the ethos that such a reaction only further marginalizes young people, many of whom eventually became career criminals. The project focuses on the strengths of each child, taking into consideration strengths and weaknesses associated with the family. The project's attention to individual cases make it unique in its kind and highly accepted in the community.



"We aim to work closely with children who have broken the law and/or have had their own rights violated; and monitor police proceedings. Our focus is on research and designing individualized plans for each beneficiary, "says psychologist Felipe Andrés Fernández Soto, Estación Central's Public Safety Chief.

Fernandez, who helped design the project and currently oversees technical, financial and administrative support to the team, says the project beneficiaries' likelihood of re-offense is a mere 17%.

Direct contact

"One of the main lessons learned is the need to design differentiated and realistic strategies to avoid burnout, " said Fernandez, who adds that one of the main challenges of the project is that those entering the program show a low level of adherence.

"These children usually have gone through several interventions, they have been through the education and mental health system without much success. To address this problem and create a bond of trust with the team, we start out with home visits where we talked with the child to establish work commitments," says the psychologist.

According to a survey to monitor project's popularity among its users, 60% of minors surveyed said they felt supported when the 'tios'—as they call psychologists and social workers—visited his home. "I like to meet 'tios' from the project because I can talk about personal things with them, "says one of the  young beneficiaries.

Most parents and guardians surveyed also agreed with this statement. "In short, the Project's professionals interact well with both with adults and with children. We value relationships, the site visits and establishment of the offices as a safe place," added Fernandez.

Estación Central's youth population is exposed to a number of phenomena associated with violence and drug use, domestic violence, the sex trade and weapons trafficking.

Due to the complexity of these problems, the project's designers and implementers understand that solutions require a multi-causal view. "For this reason, we have coordinated with local stakeholders in crime prevention, as well as those responsible for punishment (Carabineros de Chile) and with the legal authorities responsible for rehabilitation and punishment, "says Fernandez.

Children served by Estación Esperanza are between 4 and 17 in age. Most have dropped out of school; some had been out of school for as many as three years when they first came to Estación Esperanza.

"Many have been exposed to violence or personal violation, like the murder of a close family member, abandonment (either being left by their guardian or being kicked out of the home), domestic violence, problems related to alcohol, drug trafficking, or ties to crime.

Generally, upon meeting the young beneficiaries, counselors find family conflicts going back generations, sustaining violence and violation, something that calls for a comprehensive intervention with the child and his family," Fernandez said.Often, the team helps the child to find a safe place, in which they can return to activities appropriate for his/her age.

Intervention Methodology



Interventions are conducted on outpatient basis, through home visits. There are four levels of intervention: individual support, group therapy, family counseling, and intervention support network. For professionals, the most important step is getting the child back to school and staying in touch with the team.

First, the team conducts a diagnostic, assessing potential challenges and weaknesses.

The second step is the intervention, whose characteristics are determined on a case by case basis: depending on drug use, educational level, time out of school, family situations and so on.

When the child does not respond to intervention, he/she is referred to a more involved program, with periodic evaluations and legal support, if the youth is being tried for an offense.

"Lastly, the counselors follow up and close the case. First, counselors assess whether goal were met. Then, this information is presented to the team and a follow up session is planned," concludes Fernández.

Other Areas of Prevention

Estación Esperanza is just one project in Estación Central to prevent violence. Other projects work with women, with the police and the community. For example, the community has a care center for victims of domestic violence; a program to prevent drug use, a center for the protection of rights of children and adolescents, which provides counseling and legal support to victims of abuse and/or neglect.

To prevent violence, the municipality has installed surveillance cameras and has installed neighborhood watch systems, which aims to strengthen ties within neighborhoods, and in turn, make them safer.
Something else making Estación Central safer, is increased coordination between police and prosecuting authorities. Lastly, in the realm of Community Safety, is building awareness about existing human resources in the area and making these people known and available to community members.

Translation: Danielle Renwick