Youth Services Initiative
A community based after school and summer program for youth living in public housing
Mission
Our mission is to provide youth from low income families the opportunities and resources necessary to make positive recreational, educational and lifestyle choices.
Did You Know...
- While the Hispanic population of the City of Boulder comprised only 8.2% of the total population in the year 2000 (United States 2000 Decennial Census), 55% of families living in public housing are Latino.
- The average annual household income of families living in public housing is $12,322 -- well below the federally defined poverty level established in 2001 ($14,269 for a family with one adult and two children; $17,960 for a family with two adults and two children).
- While the majority of children five years and older are bi-lingual, the majority of Hispanic adults (and pre-school age children) are mono-lingual Spanish.
- After-school programs that are not community-based are frequently inaccessible to public housing youth due to transportation barriers and to family responsibilities that require them to be at home.
- Youth and families experience multiple barriers to participation in recreation and leisure activities such as lack of financial resources, lack of transportation, lack of knowledge about available opportunities and resources, and language barriers.
- Middle- and high school youth experience high rates of school drop-out (45%), teen pregnancies, and drug and alcohol use. The number one concern expressed by parents is that there is “not enough to do” for their children during non-school hours.
As a result, the Youth Services Initiative has developed a model after-school program that addresses the demonstrated need for a community-based, multifaceted approach to promoting the positive development of youth living in low income housing communities – one that will help them to develop skills, competencies, positive values and self-esteem, as well as increase literacy levels and strengthen families.
The City of Boulder Youth Services Initiative represents an expansion of the Youth Recreation Program (YRP), a community outreach program targeting low income youth in the City of Boulder. Initiated more than 11 years ago in response to high rates of vandalism, smoking and drug use among youth in public housing communities, and to a concern by parents that there were no positive alternatives available to the youth during non-school hours, the original goal of the YRP was to “facilitate the positive development of low income youth by providing opportunities, skills and resources that will empower them to make informed choices for their recreation/leisure and lifestyle pursuits.”
Recognizing the need for a more comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to positive youth development, the Youth Services Initiative has identified an opportunity to expand the scope and intent of the YRP. Through the development of a collaborative venture with other service providers in the community, the YSI will extend current YRP programming from one to five days a week, and in addition will create the added dimensions of academic enrichment and family support services to the existing structure of the YRP.
Contact Us
Boulder Parks and Recreation
Alex Zinga: (303) 413-7204
Youth Services Initiative Partner Agencies
Boulder Housing Partners
Annakay Johnson: (720) 564-4600
Family Resource Schools
Kathryn Coleman: (303) 441-3344
I Have A Dream Foundation of Boulder County
Lori Canova: (303) 444-3636
Watershed School
Jason Berv: 440-7520
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 21 October 2009 11:11
Parks & Recreation 