youth guidance gala 2016 - cjc.net

YOUTH GUIDANCE GALA 2016 YOUTH GUIDANCE GALA 2016

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MISSION

Mission: Youth Guidance creates and implements school-based programs that enable at-risk children to overcome obstacles, focus on their education and, ultimately, to succeed in school and in life. Vision: Become the leader in providing school-based social-emotional services for youth in under-resourced communities.


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HISTORY

1924 Founded as The Church Mission of Help, Youth Guidance was originally formed to assist girls in need of shelter, clothing, medical care, financial help, legal assistance, and educational/vocational opportunities. 1962 The Church of Mission Help merged with an agency serving boys in family court and became Youth Guidance Youth Services. 1969 Youth Guidance entered into a partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and established our first full-time offices within area schools—laying the foundation for the innovative, school-based initiatives that are the cornerstone of the Youth Guidance of today.


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OUR PROGRAMS

Our programs serve more than 8,000 youth across 80 public schools each year


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Students participate in weekly hour-long sessions that combine traditional group therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, mentoring, and academic coaching

Guided by six core values: • Integrity • Accountability • positive anger expression • self-determination • respect for women • visionary goal setting. BAM has been nationally recognized as a successful school-based intervention that helps

young men reach their full potential. BAM will serve over 4,000 students in over 50 public schools this year

BECOMING A MAN (BAM)


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In June 2016, researchers from the University of Chicago Crime Lab released new findings from a second randomized controlled trial (RCT) Findings show that BAM reduced violent crime arrests by 50%, reduced total arrests by 35%, and increased on-time high school graduation rates by 19%.

BECOMING A MAN (BAM)


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WOW (Working on Womanhood) is a multifaceted group counseling program that works to improve social-emotional and behavioral competencies for 7th—12th grade girls exposed to traumatic stressors and/or with emotion regulation challenges. Launched in 2011, the school-based program runs throughout the academic year and currently serves more than 1,000 students in 22 Chicago schools.

WORKING ON WOMANHOOD (WOW)

WOW focuses on issues relevant to teens’ daily lives (e.g., conflict resolution, family issues, drug and alcohol addiction, and academic performance), all of which are broader community issues. Guided by five core values: • self awareness • emotional intelligence • healthy relationships • visionary goal setting • leadership


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Youth Guidance’s STRIVE Program (Strategies to Rejuvenate Interest and Value in Education) is a partnership with area public schools and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

The program works to integrate support systems within schools in order to help wards of the state transition into adulthood and lead productive lives.

STRIVE

STRIVE delivers counseling and academic support to children and their families that empower them to achieve social and academic success. In addition to one-on-one counseling, STRIVE activities include college tours, social and educational enrichment field trips, parent and family engagement workshops, and other educational activities.


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School-Based Counseling

Responding to the requests of educators and school administrators, counselors address issues such as: adjusting to a new school environment, improving behavior and interpersonal relations, coping with grief or loss, handling environmental trauma and stress (family, school, neighborhood), and regulating emotions. Through advocacy and case management, staff provide resources and linkages to services to ensure that students attend school regularly, move on to the next grade level, achieve academically, and graduate from school.


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Community & Afterschool

Community Schools Community Schools offer services and supports to meet students’ needs in academics, health, family and the broader community. They work to: • Boost academic achievement through

educational and social-emotional supports, while also removing barriers and providing enhanced opportunities for growth.

• Address the health and wellness needs of children and their families through medical support, counseling services and youth and community development programs.

• Build parental and community engagement and enhance decision-making through shared leadership.

Parent & Family Engagement The Parent & Family Engagement Program offers specialized trainings and workshops to parents and caregivers that emphasize the importance of their voice and involvement in their child’s education. Program staff work closely with families to address challenges such as language barriers, complex work schedules or a general sense of disenfranchisement, particularly in urban areas plagued by violence and crime.

Extended Day & Enrichment Across Chicago, parents are in need of safe, engaging options for their children at the end of the traditional school day. Youth Guidance’s Extended Day and Enrichment programs meet this need by offering high-quality, effective and unique afterschool programs at several convenient, Chicago school locations.


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Workforce Development

Our workforce development programs offer: Career Counseling

Job Readiness Skills Training Case Management

Employment Connections

By participating in our youth workforce development programs, youth will experience decreased barriers to success in the workforce, as well as increased knowledge about, awareness of, and skills required for success in the workforce, ultimately leading to:

• Increased confidence in their professional identity • Progress towards their career goals • Increased access to high level employment opportunities

Our Youth Workforce Development programs ensure that youth from high-risk communities are connected to opportunities they may not have otherwise had access to and are empowered with the key life skills and resources necessary to connect to a meaningful postsecondary opportunity of their choice. This year, our workforce programs will serve 200 youth from across the city of Chicago.


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Project Prepare For more than 25 years, Project Prepare has provided students with learning opportunities designed to develop current and future career interests. Project Prepare is offered to juniors and seniors at four high schools. Career Specialists work with students one-on-one, in small groups, or within CTE classes and focus on career exploration, professional identity development, job readiness skills, and postsecondary transition. Students participate in special events such as job shadowing, employer visits, and job readiness bootcamps.

AmeriCorps Now entering its second year of implementation, Youth Guidance’s AmeriCorps program offers recent high school graduates the opportunity to complete 900 hours of service to children and youth in Chicago. The members receive professional development throughout the year and career transition support. Currently, 8 Members serve Youth Guidance’s Community & After School Program and 8 Members serve with After School Matters (ASM) programs.

Project Prepare - BLUE

In January 2016, Youth Guidance launched a workforce development program that builds upon its proven in-school programming to serve 25 out-of-school and unemployed youth. The program is based at Blue 1647 in Pilsen and targets 18-24 year old high school graduates of YG programs in need of additional training and assistance to successfully transition into college and/or the workforce.


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Employment Opportunities

Youth are connected to job shadowing, internship, and job opportunities that align with their career interest and path. Career Specialists focus on assisting participants with job search and application and retention in employment. Participants are connected to work opportunities through One Summer Chicago, the CROSSwalk to Work Summer Internship Program, the YG AmeriCorps program, and other workforce development partners. Some of our employer partners include: • At Your Service, Ford Motor Company, Power Construction, PPM America, Saint James

Commons, Sprint, Summer in the City, S3, TJX Companies, and Wischhover and Associates

In the summer of 2016, YG partnered with nine employers to offer paid summer internship opportunities to participants in Youth Guidance programming. At right, four YG interns with their supervisors and Career Specialists at the Ford stamping plant.


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Youth Guidance

Questions?

To learn more, visit us at: https://www.youth-guidance.org/

youth guidance gala 2016 - cjc.net

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