Dawn Shimberg of Campton worked at a vendor booth last month at the annual Tilton-Northfield Old Home Day.

There, as the director of the Youth Assistance Program in Tilton, she promoted a service that she’s led for a dozen years, aimed at troubled teens who might have had a brush with the law or suffered from addiction.

It’s nearly impossible for Shimberg to attend a local event such as this without being recognized. Young adults stopped by, again and again, sometimes with their children. It might have been 10, 20 years since Shimberg had connected with these people – who once upon a time had depended on Shimberg to add balance and sobriety to their lives – yet some adults saw her, recognized her, pointed to her, and then thanked her.

“She saw so many people stop by just to see her,” said Pat Tucker, who counsels substance abuse patients at her private practice, upstairs from Tucker. “They used to see her years ago, and some of these teens have grown up and have had kids of their own. A wonderful person.”

Wonderful enough, according to Tucker, to join the Monitor’s list of Hometown Heroes. Tucker herself was recognized as a Hero last year. Meanwhile, Shimberg said she’s still fresh and motivated after more than 35 years working with teens, some of whom had committed crimes before a court order had directed them to her.

In recent years, her job has been made more difficult due to Covid.

“There was anxiety from the pandemic,” Shimberg said. “As far as me feeling burnt out, I have a lot of variety. Just the other day at Old Home Day, we had arts and crafts and information.”

She studied criminal justice and social work in college in Illinois and knew early on that she wanted to help troubled kids, saying, “My goal was to keep teens out of the court system.”

She moved to New Hampshire 40 years ago and soon joined the team at the Youth Assistance Program, as the associate director of YAP who took the reins about a dozen years ago.

She’s counseled teenaged girls, some of whom were homeless due to abuse at home, in Dover and later worked at the Rolfe and Rumford Home in Concord. That facility closed in 2009 after 129 years in operation, a victim of shrinking budgets and a mandate that favored foster care over residential placement.

Shimberg said she’s proud that she pounds the pavement, traveling to middle schools and high schools, trying to spread the word that alternatives to drugging and drinking and stealing are available, if someone is serious about rehabilitation.

“These are programs for teens who need more education and support,” Shimberg said. “They’re sent here for juvenile offenses instead of court. The school or a judge can refer them.”

A student vaping in the school bathroom might be directed to Shimberg.

“Vaping has harmful effects and a lot of teens are experimenting with it,” Shimberg said. “Some are using (pot) and alcohol. Most are referred so they don’t go to jail.”

Tucker, who works in close proximity with Shimberg, has seen her ability to relate to troubled teens.

“She has a wonderful calm way about her that deals with (the students) who don’t want to be there,” Tucker said. “She remains calm and works with them as she engages them.”

Shimberg said she uses humor as a tool, defusing potential conflicts in her attempts to reach young, troubled minds. She believes in second chances.

“I tell the kids, ‘You did what you did back then at a different time,” Shimberg said. Then I ask, ‘What are you going to do now?’ ”

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