LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)-- Positive changes are underway at the Lafayette Juvenile Detention Center, to give more resources to juveniles while they are at the facility.

Maintenance Supervisor with the Lafayette Juvenile Detention Center Larry Richard said he wants to add more positive resources to the facility.

"Just because they here doesn't mean that they have to have that mentality," Richard said. "That it has to be all bad."

With the help of donations from the community, the center was able to upgrade their basketball courts for children to enjoy. Other projects, such as a garden, are also in the works as well. Lafayette parish board member, Josh Edmond, said he hopes these projects show the children at the center that they are loved and cared for.

"Even though they're locked up in here or incarcerated here we still want to have something beautiful for them, and that way we can help them rehabilitate their mind and get their thought process back correctly," Edmond said.

Edmond said it's important for officials to set a positive example for the youth.

"We gonna take all that together and be a driving force for change," Edmond said. "That way these young men can see a positive outlook and they can see people that look like them doing positive things as well."

Wilson and Edmond told News 10 their goals are to provide the tools for growth among the youth at the center moving forward.

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