Heather Frantz, 21, Sharon, said she was once a rebellious child who hated her family and talked back all the time.

That was, until her life was transformed during the six months she spent as a 15-year-old client of the Neighborhood-based Family Intervention Center.

"They're just so concerned. They let you know they really care," she said.

Now, Ms. Frantz, her mother Yvonne and their family members are communicating better, both women are in college and Ms. Frantz is preparing to graduate next spring from Pennsylvania State University's Shenango Campus in Sharon.

They, along with former clients, parents, agency and political leaders, offered remarks at the center's 10th anniversary dinner Thursday evening in Sharon.

The center was established in 1993 to decrease the number of delinquent youth in a 19-block target area of Farrell and Sharon who are removed from their homes and reduce the rate that those youth end up in trouble again.