ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley, through the River Valley Health Fund, recently awarded a $7,000 grant to help meet the needs of court-involved juveniles.

Wednesday saw Belmont County Court of Common Pleas, Probate/Juvenile Division Judge Al Davies and the court’s probation officers distributing free bookbags to the court-involved juveniles at the Wise Building located at the Belmont County Fairgrounds.

The 65 backpacks were filled with essential hygiene items, including shampoo, laundry soap, toothbrushes, deodorant and more.

Davies said that there are a lot of wonderful programs that provide assistance for less-fortunate individuals in need of food or clothing. But he saw that there’s not a lot of programs that assist children with their hygiene needs.

“Hygiene is so very important. When kids start school they want to look good and want to smell good,” Davies said. “If they’re not doing that, then sometimes life can be cruel. Kids can be cruel.”

He added that he believes the program is valuable to the juvenile court so it can meet the need for hygiene.

“It just goes well with our overall goal of helping and promoting healthy kids, physically, mentally and emotionally,” he said.

If any of the court-involved juveniles were unable to attend Wednesday’s event, their backpacks will be personally delivered by Juvenile Court probation officers. During the visits the probation officers will take the opportunity to discuss making healthy choices, school attendance, self-care, and responsible decision-making.

Davies said that, while packing the bookbags, his court tried to think of those things that the students need most, such as deodorant, toothpaste, hair care products, as well as things that you might not think of such as laundry detergent and healthy snacks.

“My staff did a nice job of brainstorming as to what items should be included,” he said.

Belmont County Juvenile/Probate Court, court administrator Dave Carter added that this is the second year the program has been in existence.

He said that the program wouldn’t be possible without the grant given by the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley.

Carter said that the court went to various local stores to purchase the bookbag items to keep the money within the county.

“We are so happy that we could do this for the kids and get this grant again, and we’re gonna apply next year,” Carter said. “Hopefully we can do the same thing and maybe even expand it next year.”

Davies said that in addition to providing practical support, the program also strengthens communication between youth and probation officers, encouraging conversations about school attendance, needs at home, and making positive choices.