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YRCCC Region IV Meeting Notes

Agency: Central States SER-Jobs for Progress, Inc

Program Coordinator: Jacqueline Del Villar

Date: June 23, 2010

Meeting Location: One Hope United (Conference Room)

707 E. 47th Street

Chicago, IL 60653

Time: 10am-12pm

I. Agency Spotlight: One Hope United

A. Niki Kuforiji gave a brief presentation on several services which are offered in Cook

County by One Hope United. She distributed a sheet which contained detailed information on the various programs. Please see the attached handout.

II. YRC Council Evaluation Overview: Please contact Ricca Rivera for a copy of the powerpoint presentation. Riccadonna.rivera@

III. Group Activity: Collaborative Problem Solving

A. Scenario

1. The Sun Times published an article about a troublesome gang problem

throughout every neighborhood in Region 4. The article reported that the young

people involved in this gang are between the ages of 9 and 18. Many of these

young people are failing out of school and have been experiencing homelessness.

2. Mayor Daley has just made a statement about this issue in Region 4. He is upset

that youth-serving agencies have not done enough the prevent or intervene in this

gang-related problem in the region. He has made it clear that he expects agencies

to come together to work on a solution to this growing problem. He has selected

your small group to be the lead agencies in solving this problem.

3. You all must work together to come up with a solution. Each agency must be

represented in solving the problem.

B. Solution

1. Group 1 proposed a 24 Hour Safe Haven

a. Their first objective was to find intermediaries like organizations or people with

close communication and connections with gang members.

b. Then they would request funding from the City to create a sort of council to do

outreach and training. Possible youth centers located in hot zones for their

training include Teen Living Programs, YMCA street intervention (gang

peace), gang awareness (SER) (parent engagement), Cease Fire, Culture of

CALM, and In My Shoes.

c. Thirdly the Safe Haven would provide food and possibly separate the groups by

age or gender.

d. The Safe Haven would utilize churches, schools, etc for outreach.

e. Finally the Safe Haven would promote positive publicity and provide public

transportation.

2. Group 3 would collaborate using YRC

a. Provide safe housing via Mercy Housing, Teen Living Programs, Referrals, and

outreach.

b. Provide counseling services @ CLSTT and address PTSD issues.

c. Provide GED educational programming via Afterschool Matters.

d. Provide safe transportation to/from school via CPS and safe passage involving

CPD.

e. Family counseling via One Hope United

f. Involve cease fire

g. Community youth forum-tackle violence in communities

h. Provide training for social service providers about Gangs 101

i. Early head start programs

j. Center on Halsted- job training

3. Group 4

a. Create a list of agencies that serve youth with contacts and services provided

b. Establish committees (short & long term) like street canvassing, referrals,

education, workforce, community church events, mentoring, housing, and

prevention

c. The next step would be to raise community awareness of the formation of

committees using PSA’s, Chamber of Commerce, and the use of social

networking.

d. Then the group would introduce block parties in alternating communities as a

means of taking back the streets with youth led rallies.

4. Group 5 shared a description of how each agency could contribute.

a. Uno Charter- Anti gang recruitment program in after school sessions

b. HAS- safe space 5pm-8pm & focus groups

c. BYNC- tutoring, comp., & dance classes; open all weekdays, evenings, &

Saturdays, safe passage

d. Holy Cross- career awareness & development

e. Mid South- 19-21 year olds, vocational training vouchers & job placement

f. Charles Hayes- parental engagement

g. HPNC- family engagement in health & wellness

h. BGCC- youth leadership, program open late

i. All would meet at central locations using BYNC & HPNC shuttles doing

service projects and team building activities.

IV. Safe Place Presentation: Elizabeth Tracy

A. Elizabeth Tracy gave details regarding the Chicago Safe Place Program. A safe

place is a national model where businesses, libraries, agencies, and hospitals become

a safe location for youth to go in distress. Safe places are currently being

implemented in Chicago through a two-year pilot program. Safe place sites are

asked to call a toll free number where a youth worker will be connected with the

young person and respond accordingly. Further details regarding the Safe Place

Program can be found on the attached sheet.

V. Back to School Event Update

A. The first Back to School Event is confirmed and scheduled to take place on July 31st,

2010. The event will be held at the Rauner Family YMCA which is located at 2700

S. Western. The event will run from 12pm-4pm.

B. Currently we are in the process of selecting a possible second location for our

second Back to School Event which could take place on the tentative date of August

31st, 2010. More updates to come soon.

VI. Subcommittee Interest

A. A sign-up sheet for any type of sub-committee was passed around for anyone

interested in forming one. The focus for these sub-committees would include issues

which involve the youth within Region IV.

VII. Wordpress Presentation: yrcregion4communitycouncil.

A. This site contains information regarding the current activity for the Youth Ready

Chicago Community Council within Region IV.

1. Here you will find a Directory of agencies which provide programming for youth

up to the age of 24.

a. We will be working on including links to the corresponding agency’s sites to

better connect people interested in the programs.

2. This site also connects you with the YRC Region IV Gmail Calendar which

includes all the upcoming events in the upcoming area.

VIII. Summer Program Offerings

A. Also on the wordpress site is a page for youth summer programming offered by

various agencies. You will be able to find the programming sorted in alphabetical

order, arranged by age range in which they serve, and also in PDF file.

IX. Referral Process

A. When referring youth to an agency or program associated with the Youth Ready Chicago Chicago Community Council, 6 steps must be followed to complete the process.

1. Youth is referred to YRC-CC

2. YRC-CC locates programs near youth

3. Referral is sent to Agency

4. Agency should contact youth

5. Follow up is made with youth within 30 days.

6. Repeat process if necessary.

X. Announcements/Next Meeting:

A. CPR certification class

1. The class is scheduled to take place on Friday, July 9th, 2010.The class will run

from 9:00am to 2:30 pm.

2. The location will be at our Central States SER office at 3948 W. 26th Street.

3. The cost for the class will be $35 and the preferred method of payment is

cashier’s check or money order.

4. The class covers the areas of first aid, proper usage of an automated external

defibrillator (AED), and CPR for infants, children, and adults.

5. If you are interested in partaking in the class please feel free to contact us to

RSVP as soon as possible.

B. Mercy Housing Lakefront

1. Get on the “Shelter Plus Care” Waitlist for Schiff Residences

a. Come to Schiff Residences on 1244 N. Clybourne

b. Doors open at 8:30am on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010.

2. All “Shelter Plus Care” studios at Schiff Residences are low-income, single-room,

furnished apartments for single adults. The apartments include private baths and

kitchenettes. Rents are subsidized and will not exceed 30% of the resident’s

income. Utilities are included. The Schiff Residence is not family housing.

3. Doors will open at 8:30am. Applicants will be signed up on a first-come-first-

serve basis. When the “Shelter Plus Care” Waitlist reaches the cut-off point of

125 people, we will stop taking applications. These studio apartments are for

single men or women, not families. All applicants must be homeless and disabled.

C. Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO)

1. A few spots are currently still available for summer camp. If you are interested

in referring youth to the camp or wish to find out further information please

contact Jonathan Projansky. kocoydp@

2. In addition a Hunger Walk will be taking place this weekend near the lakefront.

For further details contact Jonathan Projansky. kocoydp@

Next YRCCC Meeting

Date: July 28th, 2010

Time: 10am-12pm

Location: Central States SER~Jobs for Progress, Inc.

Room: Suite 213 (Second Floor) Orientation Room

Please RSVP by July 23rd, 2010

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