After clerking for the District Attorney’s Office during the summer after his first year of law school, alumnus Hunter Taylor (’07) knew he’d found his place in the world. Nine years later and still with the DA, he’s helping a younger generation find theirs.

As a prosecutor in the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office’s Crime Prevention Unit in 2013, Taylor began an outreach program called Real Men Read to address the well-documented link between literacy and incarceration rates. Since then, Taylor and other volunteers have met weekly with incarcerated and at-risk young men to encourage literacy outside of the classroom and the development of positive life skills.

The program, which began with four participants working with the DA’s Youth Accountability Teams, serves roughly 350 youths in juvenile halls and the greater Riverside community. In December, Taylor was honored as Crime Prevention Prosecutor of the Year by the Riverside District Attorney’s Office.

The key to the reading program’s success, Taylor said, is meeting each participant at his own level and interests, and removing traditional institutional expectations. Rather than asking the group to read the same book, Taylor brings anywhere from 20 to 30 books to each meeting for participants. If nothing piques their interests, he hunts for more options.

“I can’t say, ‘Hey, you should really read Catcher in the Rye, it’ll change your life,’ because it may not for these kids,” he said. “We’re working with youths who proudly admit they have never finished a book before. After a while, they’re telling you about how many they’ve read as part of [Real Men Read] and you realize they were always receptive to the idea of literacy. It’s just the angle that they’ve been looking at it from.”

The weekly meetings typically begin with word games and exercises to inspire “divergent” and critical thinking, where participants are encouraged to propose solutions to riddles or puzzles to get them comfortable with speaking in a group setting. From there, participants discuss the books they are reading, breaking down their likes and dislikes. Finally, they finish with either a short story reading or a guest speaker.

Guest speakers are typically everyday people – construction workers, school teachers, pilots and occasionally servicemen – to present positive role models to the youths.

“The goal is to show that all these people are successful and that it comes down to their hard work, literacy and focus on education,” Taylor said.

Occasionally, the meetings also provide valuable life skills lessons, such as how to knot a necktie, change a tire or create a resume.

Eventually, Taylor said he’d like to see the program expand to clubs on local high school campuses. He said the response he’s seen from participants in the voluntary program and the community has been both surprising and encouraging.

“They don’t have to be there, but we get 20 kids showing up to a meeting,” he said. “And when you do the math on how many minutes they’ve spent reading where they’re not using drugs, not stealing – their noses are in books – it’s amazing.”

One of the juvenile hall participants even presented him with a handmade construction paper stocking for Christmas.

“I defy you to go into any jail and find an inmate who is making a gift for a district attorney,” he said. “A lot of these kids are pretty guarded and look at me and my office as the ones who put them there, so it’s a great feeling when they walk up and give you a fist bump and joke with you.”

Above: Hunter Taylor with civilian volunteer Dan Bernstein in front of the Riverside County Juvenile Hall