Windham County
Youth Initiative Update
June 25, 2004
Dear Community Member:
I am pleased to send this update listing the accomplishments
of the Youth Initiative
as of June 2004. It is only through collaboration with many
other organizations
throughout Windham County that these efforts have been a success.
Thank you to
all that have come to the table on different projects to make
a difference for youth
around the county!
You will find information on the following:
Public Relations Campaign
Developmental Assets Education
Out of School Time Activities
Web Site
Housing for Youth
Community Dialogues
Brattleboro Area Community Team
- Anne Lawrence Guyon, pr and marketing consultant, hired
February 2004.
- slogan
created to inspire all adults to support
young people.
- Brochures, window stickers and a newspaper ad created.
Lay out of all print
materials designed by Brattleboro Union High School
student, Brennan MacArthur.
- A 15-minute film created to help raise awareness amongst
adults in the community as to the struggles, achievements,
concerns and goals of young people. Twenty young people
from around the county are in the film. Brattleboro Union
High School student, Rex Sheldon, created the film’s
introduction.
- Brochures and window stickers are being distributed through
local merchants, in
teachers mailboxes, at events such as United Way’s
funding award ceremony and
Bellows Falls Middle School spring concert, and as
an insert to mailings such as the
Rockingham Area Chamber of Commerce. Young people in
each area of the
county are helping approach local merchants to display
a sticker in their store
window and have brochures available for customers.
- The film has been
shown in each area of the county. Although these
showings only drew a small number of people, they were
key in helping with the
distribution of brochures and window stickers. The film
has been shown during
May’s Gallery Walk in Downtown Campus’ window
on Main Street in Brattleboro
as well as to the following groups: Wilmington Middle
School students planning a
dialogue night, Youth Services staff, Boys and Girls
Club staff, and United Way
staff. The film has been given out to a number of individuals
and organizations that have committed to sharing it with
other groups. All local access television stations have
been approached to have the film shown at prime times over
the course of the year. Local businesses will
be approached to have the film shown at staff meetings.
- The ad has appeared 3 times in the Brattleboro Reformer
and will continue to
appear twice a month for the next year.
- ***If you are interested in showing the film to any group
you are involved with,
please contact me. I can provide you with a video and
discussion material.
- About 30 people around the county have been trained as
presenters of the
developmental assets approach to youth development. Ten of
these trained
presenters are young people.
- Twenty plus formal or informal presentations have taken
place around the county
reaching over 300 people.
- A survey for parents with children in grades k through
8, and a survey for youth in
grades 7 through 12 created. Surveys administered through
all schools in Windham
County.
- All data from the parent
surveys has been summarized. The Healthy Youth
Committee in Bellows Falls has reviewed the survey
data from their region and
begun to take action steps to raise awareness about the
importance of activities
outside of school and providing information on what activities
are available.
- All Brattleboro Area Middle School youth survey data
has been summarized.
This data has been used to inform the creation of a 21st
century grant proposal.
***If you have any interest in
viewing the data from your area to inform efforts to
provide quality out of school time activities please
let me know.
- Seventeen summer programs were represented at a collaboration
meeting in
March. Participants worked together on ways to increase
scholarship money and
transportation.
- Warner Web Works hired April 2004.
- Young
people and parents have been interviewed around the county
to give input
on content and design of the Youth Initiative web site.
- The online databases have been developed to hold information
regarding events,
activities and organizations devoted to young people.
- ***I will be sending out an invitation soon for organizations
to log on and enter
information on any events and/or activities they provide
young people and their
families, so keep a look out ;)
- A group of stakeholders, including one young person,
has met 8 times.
- As a result of increased
communication between organizations through these
stakeholder meetings, at least 3 young people have
been housed.
- A detailed table
of information and a poster on resources currently
available for
young people experiencing homelessness has been
created. Posters are being
placed around the county in areas that youth frequent.
The resource table has been
sent to over 50 groups/organizations/individuals that
may encounter young people
experiencing homelessness.
***If you would like an inventory
of the housing resources available for youth
and/or a poster, please
let me know.
- A feasibility study is being conducted, and will be completed
at the end of July
2004, to determine the best course of action to take
in creating more resources.
- A thirteen member planning committee organized a pilot
study circle to address
the issues around the Brattleboro Union High School mascot.
- Twenty
community members, including four young people, participated
in the
pilot study circle. The planning committee will be
making decisions on how to
move forward with community wide dialogues.
- ***IF you are interested in learning more about these
community dialogues, also
called study circles, please
let me know. We need community
members from all
backgrounds and opinions to be involved in order to truly
make the process a
success.
- Supported Brattleboro Union High School in instituting
A World of Difference
Classroom and Peer Training Program.
- Worked
with a group of school staff and community members
on conflict
resolution strategies to enhance Brattleboro Union
High School’s
environment and
discipline system.
- Supported the
organization of the third Community Team retreat to
be held July
19th – 22nd. Recruited and supporting 5 young
people to be a part of the team.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or
comments.
Enjoy your day :)
Julia Hampton*
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