A new program in the city is helping keep troubled youths in school and close to home despite their criminal issues.

The Young Men's Initiative keeps children convicted of crimes close to home and in school at local centers instead of sending them upstate where they lose educational opportunities.

Jim St. Jermaine went through a program a few years ago and just recently graduated college. He is now studying for law school. He says he wants to be a politician in the future and a force for change.