The Hope Center at the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles County recently opened a new library and relaxation room for its nearly 105 juvenile detainees. This is the first time the Hope Center has had such a space and it is filled with over 1,750 diverse paperback titles. Created by 17-year-old Crescenta Valley High School senior Elaina Marriott, the space will provide reading material where before there was none.

“We are thrilled to open this reading room! The kids here at BJNJH within our compound units have never had such a great opportunity to enjoy a collection of books – and they are eager for any great reading material,” said Detention Officer Fields. 

The Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar is one of three juvenile halls in Los Angeles County and serves teens in dire circumstances. The 85,000-square-foot campus houses up to 700 youth who are awaiting court proceedings and receiving rehabilitation. The Hope Center belongs to the compound within BJNJH, a specialized area for those charged with the most serious felonies.

“Many of the youth here have a great desire to change – and further their education. Reading a good book is a key element in this process. Until now, my kids have not had this opportunity – and would often beg me to buy or loan them a book to read,” said Fields.

Now patrons will be able to visit the new reading room and choose from hundreds of books to enjoy.

“Reading will open the kids’ minds to new ideas and experiences.  It provides a critical part of their therapy and rehabilitation while here,” said Steven Olson, assistant probation director in the Detention Services Bureau.  “We are grateful to Elaina Marriott for seeing this need and creating a solution.”

Marriott worked closely with Officer Fields and others at the BJNJH over the course of a year to complete the project. She said she is grateful to IKEA in Burbank and manager Jeff Oshaughnessy for donating seven sturdy white bookcases and a colorful rug for the space. A custom upholstered seating area provides a place to sit and relax.

The books came through many avenues. Marriott organized book collections through clubs at Crescenta Valley High School including the National Honor Society and California Scholarship Federation. Follett Books donated four boxes of good will books and shipped them across the country.  Friends of the La Crescenta Library and Friends of the La Cañada Library also helped. 

“My goal was to collect 500 books – paperback only, as hard cover books aren’t allowed in any prison-type environment – and we more than tripled that!” Marriott said. “The community really came together to support this project. I was overwhelmed by the trunk-loads and truck-loads of books we gathered.”

Marriott had teams of friends help sort the boxes and bags of books. There were even residual boxes sent to the women’s dormitory at BJNJH and more books sent to local elementary schools. 

“This project means so much to me personally because I have always loved reading and I have had a great opportunity to do so,” said Marriott. “To think of kids my own age staying at juvenile hall for months and even years with nothing to read made me want to do something for them. These kids have already survived such unthinkable circumstances, many coming from gang situations. They have not had many, if any at all, meaningful encounters with books. Now, as they re-build their lives, I’d like them to have a means to see the world in completely different ways. Reading can do that.”

The teenage residents of the BJNJH were excited to see activity in the Hope Center as the big shelves and cases of books were being loaded in and the reading room assembled. They hollered to Fields in excitement and curiosity, “When can we see it?  We want to help!”

The residents will soon start using the room and enjoying the vast selection of books. 

“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope” is a famous quotation, spoken by Nobel prize winner Kofi Annan and chosen by Marriott to inscribe on the plaque at the entrance to the room. Marriott hopes the new library space will be that bridge. 

The creation of the reading room has earned Marriott the Girl Scout Gold Award in community service, the highest award given in Girl Scouts.