Martins Ferry Police Officer Jon Young doesn’t want the kids in his community to feel afraid of law enforcement.

“When I am in a store, sometimes a parent will point to me and say to their child, ‘If you’re not good, he will arrest you.’ And they learn to be afraid of us,” Young said. “We don’t want kids to be afraid of us. We want them to know that cops are here to help.”

So Young has put together a great program to help children learn not just about the police department, but other public safety organizations as well. He has established the Martins Ferry Junior Public Safety Program, which brings the city’s emergency services ­– police, fire and EMS ­– together to engage youth and the public with safety-focused education.

It’s open to students in seventh through 12th grades who live or go to school in Martins Ferry and offers kids a firsthand chance to learn about careers in law enforcement, fire service and emergency medical services while developing leadership skills, teamwork and a strong sense of civic responsibility.

Our public safety services are among the most crucial in each of our respective communities. They are working each day to literally save lives. This program will give kids a better understanding of their daily jobs, help build trust and comfortability between the community’s youth and those emergency services, and perhaps spur some of those children to join those very important fields.

Any child interested in public safety, or just curious about how those organizations operate, should contact Young and join the program.