A North Texas man is hoping his intense boot camp can scoot troubled teenagers back onto the right path.
Chris Ortega, 14, admits he's not hanging around with the good crowd. The Grand Prairie teenager said he is getting help, from his grandfather and the rural Denton County camp run by Eden Dankowski.
Dankowski said the Get Motivated Boot Camp will cater to teens with minor bumps. He hopes to help kids before they get into bigger trouble.
"We want them before we get to that level," he said. "It doesn't mean they're not in trouble with the law. But a violent crime like a car-jacking, we're not going to be able to take care of them."
Eden said he's trying to set up relationships with surrounding counties to get judges to send him juvenile offenders.
The camp is privately funded, and parents will have to pay for the three-month session, Eden hopes to help the kids before they get into bigger trouble.
Ortega, who is one of a dozen teenagers headed to the camp in a few weeks, said it might help him change his actions.
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The camp will feature an obstacle course and therapy sessions.
"A lot of the parents like to just like to have their children fixed. We're more about the whole family," said Galit Ribakoff, one of the camp counselors.
Gilbert Ortega, Chris' grandfather and guardian, said he hopes the camp helps his grandson. The 60-year-old man also said he'll know soon enough if it works.
"If I see changes, I'll know it was the right decision," he said. "I basically think I know it's the right decision now."
