Success Stories

Youth Development Spotlight - Agencies & Organizations in Action

COTTAGE HOUSING, INC.

Cottage Housing Inc.’s (CHI) mission is to make Sacramento a better place for all by helping the people who are homeless help themselves and each other in their transition from the streets to self-sufficiency. Established in 2001, Serna Village, a project of CHI, provides permanent supportive housing for homeless families that especially focus on parents with disabilities who are in the process of reunifying with children in out-of-home placement. CHI serves over 350 homeless residents including 200 youth in the Sacramento region with its second homeless supportive housing project, Serna Village in McClellan Park. All of our youth have been homeless and twenty percent of the children of Serna Village are in the process of re-unifying with their families as they arrive from the foster care system or out of home placement.

SKYLAB

The Serna Village youth development program, known as SKYLAB, emphasizes art and technology and empowers formerly homeless youth with the access, skills, and support to realize their full potential as creative community leaders. It achieves this mission through securing state-of-the-art technology equipment, supporting creative youth-driven projects, ongoing professional mentoring and intensive leadership training programs. SKYLAB not only facilitates development programs for youth age 5-20, but also actively participates in the conversation between youth, parents, schools, counselors and collaborative partners. It assists parents in addressing the needs of our youth from the most basic to the extraordinary. The program engages youth in nurturing after-school curriculum, homework assistance and athletic activities. SKYLAB raises expectations and develops a sturdy support network of mentors and resources in the community. In turn, this program enhances the quality of life by helping them address issues relating to education, health, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, anger management, recidivism, autonomy and decision making skills. We utilize an asset based intervention strategy and network of professional partners to this end.

In 2006, SKYLAB built on its strong foundation by expanding our pilot projects into engaging programs. We credit this in part to educational opportunities for staff and youth, and a vision that has kept SKYLAB on track. We have developed an extensive network of community partners, in turn leveraging resources to reduce our program costs and introduce our youth to life beyond Serna Village. The following programs continue that are listed below:

• Shooting Stars (ages 5-10)

• Cool Crew (ages 10-14)

• Junior Leadership Program (ages 10-14)

• Senior Leadership Program (ages 15-20)

• Artist-in-Residence Program

• Tolerance & Non-Violence Workshops

Youth planning to apply to the Junior & Senior Leadership programs must participate in the Points of Light Youth Leadership Institute (PYLI), featuring a challenging series of lessons and exercises on community needs analysis, goal setting, team building, project planning, decision-making, and other leadership dynamics. PYLI curriculum is typically only available to corporate executives and government leaders.

Phase I of the Junior Leadership Program began with staff and youth attending a four-day certified training for SKYLAB staff to officially conduct these institutes. The PYLI facilitation team plans, recruits, and then leads participants through a Winter PYLI and extended Summer PYLI which includes supplemental material derived from the Youth Development Institute. Graduates of PYLI are eligible to interview with a panel of youth and staff for the immediate semester of the Junior Leadership Program. Four to six youth between the ages of 10-15 are chosen by a combination of youth and staff, based on their participation in PYLI, positive standing in the community and the interview.

Youth-driven components of the JLP begin by the planning of a weekend leadership retreat and the coordinating of team-building exercises through contracted organizations or partnerships. All participants receive individualized feedback to identify and monitor leadership skills, personal goals and progress. Group coaching nurtures the cohesiveness and direction of the team’s goals. The program culminates with an individual health-focused project or a service learning project. The JLP youth participants who complete the program will be celebrated by a public graduation ceremony.

Youth-driven activities include tracking attendance, setting group norms, developing and following through with agendas, leadership skill building, project development and management, and recruitment of guest speakers. Keys to the success of these projects include the involvement of youth in planning, implementing and evaluating all aspects of the Leadership programs.

SKYLAB programming reflects Youth Development principles in the following ways:

• Implementing research based curriculum, continuing to incorporate best practices from the strength/asset-based research of Youth Development Institute, Bonnie Benard, et. al.

• Solidify leadership skills through the PYLI planned/co-facilitated by youth

• Increase and improve youth led activities, program planning and reflection

• Strengthened relationships between adolescents, parents and community

• Reach out beyond Serna Village to prospective partners to help organize youth-led social and recreational activities for youth in the North Highlands community

Our goal for 2007 is to take full advantage of our solidified and blossoming partnerships by empowering our youth with positions in the broader community where they can effect change. Examples of these positions are: becoming a counselor at Camp Ronald McDonald on an annual basis, joining the Sacramento County Youth Commission, becoming the first elected youth board member for the North Highlands VISIONS Task Force, and taking part in youth positions with the Crocker Museum of Art. Junior Leadership participants and graduates will not only track their service-learning hours through Hands On Sacramento's online database, but will create recurring opportunities for the Sacramento community to take part in.

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