Educating Youth, Saving Lives YOUTH OUTREACH ADOLESCENT COMMUNITY AWARENESS PROGRAM
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YOACAP
Affiliated with the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition
newsletter
In this issue… Our services include... Editorial
May 2009
2
Issue 10
Rapper TI, YOACAP, Power 99, Philadelphia School District, and Black Youth Vote visit Roxborough High School By Tameka Matthews
One very special Day At The Park
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Rapper TI partners with YOACAP 3 Youth Council makes a difference 3 What happened in your district
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And more! Interactive Workshops Drama Presentations Case Management Free STD/HIV Testing and Counseling Anti-Tobacco Youth Programs Counseling sessions for women infected by HIV/AIDS
Call (215) 851-1836 for more information
There were an estimated 1,800 students in the Philadelphia public school system who were eligible to register to vote this past election year. Out of those students, a total of 1,200 were registered. Roxborough High School registered the most high school voters in the Philadelphia School District and because of that great achievement, they were chosen to host a Voter’s Rally featuring Rapper TI. YOACAP, Black Youth Vote, Clear Channel Radio (POWER 99 FM), and the School District of Philadelphia collaborated to successfully facilitate YOACAP’s President & CEO, Ms. Linda Burnette, the Roxborough High School Voter’s Rally. The with Rapper TI at Roxborough High School mission of this rally was to get the graduating class of 2009 and others excited to vote in the upcoming Election. No one could have done it like the famous Atlanta’s Rapper TI, who was the special invited guest to speak to over 150 students at Roxborough High. He did not come to perform a rap concert, but to give a positive message to students by speaking out about the importance of voting. His delivery was strong and the young people stayed focused throughout his presentation. Other special guests, such as Loraine Ballard-Morrill and the Hot Boys from Power 99 FM as well as Benjamin Chavis from the Hip Hop Caucus and YOACAP staff, also educated the youth about voting. Some topics discussed were first-time voter’s experience, voting machine, and statistics of new voters in Philadelphia. Other important partners in this effort were the Youth Commission, the Philadelphia Coalition of Black Civic Participation and the Urban League of Philadelphia. To volunteer to register voters with YOACAP and Black Youth Vote, please contact Tiffany Brown at 215.796.3677.
COMMUNITIES WORKING TOGETHER, STAY TOGETHER YOACAP continues to collaborate with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s STD Control, the Blueprint for Safer Phila., and The University of Pennsylvania to provide community outreach throughout Philadelphia. In neighborhoods ravaged with economic challenges and social ills, lack of adequate or culturally competent services, the outreach team, along with our partners, works with and talks to residents to learn about their challenges and provide assistance where possible. During evening hours, when most are home Outreach Team from work and the streets are energetic, filled with people, the outreach team engages neighbors trying to provide STD/HIV screening services, literature, and positive discussions. The team works on a large Winnebago that is typically parked on street corners within these communities, visibly displaying the YOACAP and Blueprint for A Safer Philadelphia banners. The outreach team engages the community to provide one-on-one risk reduction education, referrals, and sometime just a pleasant hello. Special shout out to the YOACAP outreach workers who work extremely hard in the heat and cold to improve the quality of life of people across the City of Brotherly Love.
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YOACAP newsletter
EDITORIAL
WHAT’S SPECIAL TO US By Duerward Beale, MHS, Executive Director
This past year, I lost the strength and pillar of our family: My Father, Harry Beale, Sr. I had the luxury of spending time with both of my parents to support and help them, the same way they supported me for many years. Over the past three or four years, our staff has lost many family members, mostly unexpectedly. What I have learned through all of these experiences is that we need to spend time enjoying our families and lives. Tomorrow is not promised… No matter how hard we work, helping others within this social service field, let’s leave time for ourselves to enjoy who and what is special to us.
STRONGER BONDS MAKE STRONGER COMMUNITIES The community and local Police get together in a series of forums organized by the FDRC of Philadelphia
GOOD JOB, YOACAPERS! We would like to congratulate Project BUILD youth Andrew Ferguson, Aaliyah Miller, Keith Gaillard, Shawn Grant, and Shanequa Quarles. We hope you enjoyed your Junior or Senior Proms! Congratulations to all of our graduates, much love and continued success! Also, Joseph Kemp, an 18-year old Southwest Philadelphia resident who will graduate this year from Communication / Technology Charter School, has Andrew Ferguson (top), Aaliyah Miller received a scholarship to attend Johnston University in the (right); and Shawn Grant & Shanequa fall. Congratulations, Joe! Quarles at their prom
Coffee Hour is the latest addition to Voice It Sistah (VIS). VIS meets the first and third Tuesday of the month at 11 a.m. It is an informal resource that attempts to provide healing components to a variety of problems and challenges of living with HIV/AIDS. Coffee Hour is unique as it provides the same services as VIS, but with time variation and flexibility. The purpose is to meet and reach women who have responsibilities of work, physical / mental health issues, family issues, kinship care and grandparents raising children. These responsibilities make it difficult for the women to attend the VIS group consistently. Therefore, Coffee Hour was developed to meet at a time that women can take a break from their daily activities. At Coffee Hour, they can sip, share and taste the rewards of the group; they can express their concerns and feel safe in the process. Coffee Hour meets every second and fourth Wednesday at 12 noon. For more information, call Diane Mills at 215.851.1898.
www.modernartisans.com
Father’s Day Rally Committee (FDRC) recently celebrated its first forum on Police / Community relationships, and YOACAP was invited to participate. The event was held on Thursday, May 21, and it was sponsored by Power 99 FM and WDAS FM radio stations. As stated by FDRC’s President, Bilal Qayyum, this is the first of many forums that this committee will be sponsoring along with the Police Department in the upcoming months. “The forums will give us the opportunity to start the dialogue of developing better relationships between the Police and the community at large.” Mr. Qayyum’s belief is that by making such relationship stronger, the violence and crime rates in our city would considerably decrease, resulting in safer communities for our children. Our President & CEO, Ms. Linda Burnette, Participants of the first Father’s Day Rally Committee was in attendance, along with YOACAP’s forum celebrated last May 21, 2009 Area Leader, Fred Burnette. Other guests included Police Commissioner, Charles Ramsey; GPUAC’s Director of Community Services, Gerald Wright; Clear Channel’s Loraine Ballard-Morrill; Deputy Police Commissioner, Robert Ross; and clergy representatives as well as FDRC board & staff members. If you would like to obtain more information on these forums, please contact
Coffee Hour: SIP, SHARE & TASTE
YOACAP newsletter
Page 3 REACHING OUT
YOUTH WITH A PURPOSE YOACAP’s Youth Council celebrates one year of existence Introducing the YOACAP Youth Council! The youth council is an extension of YOACAP’s youth development program, Project BUILD (PB). Senior Youth Council members interview PB participants who complete phase 1 and 2 of PB. Those youth who qualify must have a 2.8 grade point average, be willing to Youth Council Members waiting to ask a question to complete individual community service hours, a Mayor Michael Nutter (left). monthly group community service project, attend four Youth Council meetings per month, and display leadership skills. The Youth Council’s one-year anniversary is approaching. We are proud of our progress and look forward to continuing our work. Special thanks to the William Penn Foundation, who supports Project BUILD with a three-year capacity building grant. The Youth Council’s community service projects have been to feed the homeless, participate with city budget meetings, create positive messages for media to promote healthy behaviors among youth, and attend many special community events, such as meeting with The Philadelphia Youth Commission and Mayor Michael Nutter at City Hall. If your organization has an upcoming community event and you would like the Youth Council to participate, please contact Ebony Joyner at 215.851.1857. Proud parents (left to right): Shawn White, Shaun Boney, Zukhan Bey, and Gerald Wright with his daughters, Nyla (left) & Nzingha
MEN OF HONOR By Fred Burnette
Blueprint for a Safer Phila. and YOACAP began facilitating Life skills at Shaw Middle School this year in October 2008. The students look forward to seeing them sharing and teaching the different lessons and elements of life. The following is an excerpt of a letter sent to us by Ms. Kemo Logan, one of the teachers at Shaw MS: «I would like to thank the sponsor: Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia for their involvement at Shaw Middle School. I really enjoyed my involvement with YOACAP under the leadership of Ms. Diane Mills and Mr. Fred Burnette with the Life Skills Training concerning conflict resolution, violence and the effects on Philadelphia senior citizens, adults, young adults and small children. I was able to incorporate this program with the focus skills and standards of the School District of Philadelphia curriculum. This program helped students identify, analyze and explain the decision making process and role playing in Life Skills application.»
It’s that time of year again. The time when we honor our Fathers. The men who raised us, took us to games, went to our recitals, played tea party with their daughters and taught their sons how to play sports .The men who taught us how to be men and women. This is the time of year we say thanks to Ms. Kemo Logan the man that worked hard his whole life so that we could have better lives. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the case in the African American community. Fathers have been noticeably absent from the home and their children’s lives. We could go on for hours discussing the reasons for this problem. The statistics that show the effects of fatherless African American households are staggering. The children from these broken homes are more likely to drop out of Fred Burnette and his dad school, get pregnant, commit crimes, and go to prison. However, while I admit this is a (left), when he major problem in our community, I think we have more success stories than the media was only 18 months old. and some so-called experts will admit. Most of these intellectuals will support the idea Below: Fred, Jr. that every Black child that comes from these broken homes are doomed to fail and that now spends his Black men leave their families and do not care about the child they left. These kinds of free time as a music producer. ideas are misguiding, too general, and are simply not true. There is a new generation of fathers out there who grew up in these broken homes and, in spite of all that, these men love their children and spend quality time with them. I know them personally, and the ones I don’t know, I see them everyday through out the city, taking their kids to school, taking them to the park, helping with homework and being real fathers, not just “baby daddies”. So when you see a real father, salute him, let him know you appreciate the change he is making in our community by simply taking care of his responsibilities. As a real African American father, I would like to take the time to honor some of the real African American fathers I know, starting with mine, Fred Burnette Jr., John Arrington, Zukhan Bey, Duan Syders, Gerald Wright, Shawn White, Sharief Andrews, Daniel Purdie, Krishna Hall, Joel Davenport, Sharief Andrews Shaun Boney, Chauncey Childs and Fleming Cook. Happy Father’s Day! (left) and Daniel Purdie
YOUTH OUTREACH ADOLESCENT COMMUNITY AWARENESS PROGRAM ******
1207 Chestnut Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 P: (215) 851-1836 / F: (215) 851-1878
Linda L. Burnette President & CEO
Duerward K. Beale, MHS Executive Director
Virginia Rivero-Descailleaux Editor In Chief Collaborators:
Duerward K. Beale, MHS Tameka Matthews, MHS Diane Mills Ebony Joyner, MHS Fred Burnette
© Copyright. YOACAP. 2003. All rights reserved.
FYI:
Check out some of the most effective and current projects of YOACAP...
Educational Presentations : Small group discussions provided to areas schools, community centers, churches, HIV/STDs, Peer Pressure, etc. Project S.H.A.K.E.D.O.W.N.: Developed to provide skills, education, and risk reduction activities to reduce the transmission of HIV. Provided as part of this program is Becoming A Responsible Teen (B.A.R.T.), a 12-week curriculum provided to schoolaged students, 8-12 grades. RAP Dramas : Plays written and produced by youth for youth, to provide education and awareness about the negative impact of social problems on urban teenagers. Support Groups : Support and peer education. Targeted groups include youth smokers and women impacted by HIV disease. Youth Development : Project Build, a 14—18 week program, designed to increase youth assets to support healthy transitions to adulthood. Youth Civic Engagement : Voter registration and education for youth and young adults throughout Philadelphia. Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) : Innovative education provided to youth about ATODs. Life Skills, an 10-session skills building curriculum, is specifically for 5-10 grade students.
WHAT HAPPENED IN YOUR DISTRICT HIV/STD Screening: 2000 Councilmanic District 2, 3, 5, and 7. Highlights include evening and late night outreach at Germantown & Somerset; 52nd & Spruce St.; 60th & Lansdowne Ave.; 33d & Huntingdon St.; 7th & Lycoming Ave.; 22nd & Allegheny Ave.; and many other locations in the surrounding areas. Youth Development & Life Skills: 2000 Councilmanic District 1, 2, 3, and 4. Highlights include participation of teenagers in Project Build who attend Bodine, John Bartram, Parkway, Overbrook, Bok AVTS, Sayre, and West Philadelphia High Schools; as well as Life Skills at Shaw Middle School and Comegys Elementary School. B.A.R.T., Smoking Cessation & STD Presentations: 2000 Councilmanic District 5 & 6. Highlights include presentation being implemented in Abraham Lincoln, Strawberry Mansion, Fitzsimmons, and Martin Luther King High Schools.