From the Santa Maria Sun.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – February 5, 2026 –  Looking at Santa Barbara County’s probation routine for formerly incarcerated youth with a fresh pair of eyes, Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley is also providing those juvenile offenders with a new face.

“I believe, and research shows, that young people thrive when they have adults who care about them in their lives. So, getting another person into a young person’s life regularly, to listen to their needs, is always a good thing,” Edwin Weaver, executive director of the nonprofit, told the Sun.

A recent contract boost from the county positioned Fighting Back to expand some of the region-wide programs it’s provided since 2020 and to take the reins on others. The nonprofit has served the Santa Maria Valley since 2003.

One of the new programs it will take over is the county’s youth gang intervention program, which the Probation Department launched in 2021. 

Between then and 2025, local probation officers hosted weekly sessions using a curriculum designed by Florida-based nonprofit ARISE Foundation. The aim was to educate youth sentenced to supervised probation about the real-world repercussions of being in a gang, using written testimonies from dozens of former gang members. 

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In a recent pitch to the county Board of Supervisors, the county Probation Department proposed that Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley step in to oversee the ARISE program moving forward. Probation believes it would be more beneficial for youth to learn from an adult mentor who doesn’t also happen to be their probation supervisor.

“The role of the deputy probation officer in supervising youth is different than that of a Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley youth programming specialist, who may engage with youth in a more therapeutic manner [that could] elicit greater youth transparency and participation,” Probation Department Manager Erin Cross told the Sun via email. “It was believed transitioning the delivery of ARISE to Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley would allow youth to achieve maximum benefit from that program.”

Fighting Back Executive Director Weaver described the shift, approved by the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 27, as an intuitive approach.

“Sometimes probation officers have to deliver really hard, bad news. … But, here at Fighting Back, we’re Switzerland,” Weaver said. “We’re not the one disciplining them, like a judge or probation officer.”

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Some of the gang prevention program’s most impactful lessons, Benson believes, center on violence and conflict resolution and anger management.

“These areas are critical because unresolved anger and impulsive decision-making often play a major role in gang involvement,” she said. “Helping youth recognize triggers, understand consequences, and develop healthier ways to respond can change the trajectory of their lives.”

Facilitating the ARISE program marks Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley’s first time working with youth on supervised probation after serving a juvenile hall sentence. But staffers at the nonprofit—including its full-time restorative justice mediator—are no strangers to working with kids, teens, and young adults in their early 20s while they’re in custody.

“Our job is to prepare the young people for life after they get released,” Executive Director Weaver said. “You can imagine that if you did a crime when you were 15, and from ages 15 to 24 you’re incarcerated in the juvenile justice system—you’re not very prepared for life. … Our job is to get them ready.”

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Along with funding the group’s new role leading ARISE and other evidence-based mentorship services for youth on probation, the recent contract increase from the county will fund the hiring of two new full-time youth program specialists.

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Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley also relies on donations from the public to continue expanding its services, which include two new scholarships the nonprofit is introducing this year, and one milestone project it’s been working on for the past three years.

“We’re building a one-stop shop for homeless 18-to-24-year-olds,” Weaver said about the group’s upcoming Navigation Center for Transitional Youth on East Chapel Street in Santa Maria. “They can come in and get mental health services, counseling. They can do laundry, they can take a shower, store their things, get their paperwork ready for housing, and get housing navigation services.

“We hope to open that up in March,” he added. “We’re just about ready to open.”

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Read the full article here.

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The Santa Barbara County Probation Department is committed to community safety and taking a proactive role in client accountability and family wellness