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YSP Fact
Over the past year, YSP's counseling and prevention programs have supported over 1,200 young people and their families.
YSP Fact
Nearly 750 referrals were made throughout the year to various YSP programs based on young people's interests, skills and needs. |
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Youth Development
YSP has a powerful presence within the community, which helps us in recruitment and outreach efforts. We have partnerships with community high schools, including Rezin-Orr Community Academy and Kelvyn Park High School. Through our prevention efforts, the community building team works in the following grade schools: Cameron, Lowell, Stowe, Piccolo and Casals. YSP also works with outside systems, which include the Illinois Department of Human Services, Juvenile Court, and the Department of Children and Family Services.
Assessment
YSP's intake process is the initial step in helping young people create and achieve their goals. All youth interested in our programs must complete a youth-driven intake, which allows the youth, with the help of staff, to develop an individualized plan.
Wraparound is a process of building more effective support for youth through a comprehensive assessment. This assessment focuses on providing comprehensive services that help youth enhance strengths and overcome barriers. The intake and wraparound process helps youth create a plan for their future that is based on their interests and assets, rather than their deficits.
Referrals
After completing YSP's intake and assessment process, youth are referred to various activities and programs based on their interests and needs. We make many referrals to our programs and initiatives, however we also refer youth externally. Through YSP's partnerships and collaborations, YSP refers young people to the appropriate programs and opportunities whether at YSP or elsewhere.
Mentoring & Counseling
YSP mentors play a key role in the lives of every youth. Through relationships with mentors, YSP youth become empowered, self-confident and socially aware young leaders. Mentors help young people overcome challenges, as well as encourage youth to enhance their skills, explore their interests and meet their goals.
YSP social workers and professional counselors help youth face barriers through a strength-based approach. Counselors provide young people with individual, peer group and family counseling, in addition to referral to internal and external supportive services. Program activities include advocacy for participants in the judicial system, home visits, field trips, and violence prevention education.
Training
YSP's Foundations training course focuses on job readiness skills, computer literacy and entrepreneurship. Foundations includes interactive classroom sessions, as well as field trips, interaction with community business people and guest speakers. The intent of Foundations is to expose youth to entrepreneurial and business concepts and to serve as a starting point for further career and goal exploration, including educational and training opportunities within YSP's Multi-Media Universe.
YSP's Multi-Media Universe integrates art and technology and encourages creativity and innovation in young people. There are three key components to the 'Universe': YSP's Tribase Recording Studio, YSP's Community Technology Center (CTC) and HP Digital Lab and YSP's Music & Art Shop. Find out more about the Multi-Media Universe.
Enrichment
YSP's enrichment opportunities include tutoring, after-school programs and leadership initiatives. With the help of volunteers, YSP offers tutoring twice a week during after school hours. Volunteers assist young people in a variety of subjects, including math, reading, science and GED preparation.
Many of YSP's after-school initiatives take place in the Multi-Media Universe. YSP's graphic design class and digital photography program take place during after school hours. These programs allow students to explore their creative side, experiment with new technologies and engage in positive activities after the school day.
Sisters United, the Youth Leadership Council and A.R.C.O. (Awareness, Respect, Compassion and Opportunity) make up YSP's leadership initiatives. Sisters United is a youth development program for young Latina and African-American women. Participants in Sisters United write empowering poetry, attend college and girls fairs and visit cultural institutions.
The Youth Leadership Council enables the community's young people to voice their opinions and concerns by organizing and developing solutions to benefit the community. In addition, the Youth Leadership Council has taken the lead on some of YSP's violence awareness initiatives.
A.R.C.O., YSP's gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender and questioning (GLBTQ) youth group, is YSP's most recent initiative in leadership development. Created by young people, A.R.C.O. allows youth to educate their peers and spread awareness on many topics, including HIV/AIDS.
Community Building
YSP's community building staff is the major link to the Humboldt Park neighborhood. Community organizing activities engage youth, their families and the neighborhood in activities that benefit the lives of young people and the greater community. YSP's community building team assists community residents and leaders, empowering them to define community issues, set agendas and operate meetings. With YSP's support, residents find solutions to community issues such as gangs, drugs, crime, and insufficient city services.
YSP also provides technical assistance, leadership training, and support to the Block Club Federation (BCF), an umbrella organization of more than 30 block clubs in the neighborhood. BCF and YSP have concentrated on issues including scattered site public housing, access for residents to new housing, adequate support services for new residents moving into the area (i.e. school facilities, groceries), drug prevention, and community safety.
Community partnerships play an important role in YSP's organizing efforts. YSP is part of the Mid-North Partnership, which consists of various organizations, including neighborhood schools, parks, churches, and hospitals. Through this partnership, YSP greatly impacts the community and creates positive social change.
Placement
Many young people come to YSP looking for a job. YSP helps young people become prepared for the job market through job readiness and more advanced technical skills training. Some young people have aspirations of attending college. For these young people, YSP assists them in registering for standardized tests and helps them fill out application and financial aid forms.
Students who complete the e-business training course have extremely high placement rates. This intense course, which meets 6 hours a day, 5 days a week for 12 weeks, really prepares young people for information technology positions, internships and post-secondary education. We place nearly 100% of graduates in tech jobs, internships or college.
Evaluation
Our programs are evaluated through observations and analysis of the program's structure, process and outcomes, as well as data collection from participant intake forms, interviews and focus groups. Pre- and post-participation questionnaires are used to gauge youth's knowledge of and reaction to each program. Programs are also evaluated on whether or not youth met their goals created during the intake and assessment process. YSP constantly refines programs based on the results acquired through its evaluation process.
Follow-Up
After young people complete a program or initiative at YSP, we provide follow-up services to young people when they need continued encouragement and support. Specifically, YSP helps young people obtain employment and supports them after they enter the job market. In addition, youth who enroll in post-secondary education are also continually encouraged by YSP. YSP's follow-up services ensure continued communication, when necessary, between YSP's young people and staff.
We hope that after youth leave YSP they continue to work toward the goals they developed here. When young people need our continued assistance in reaching those goals, our doors are always open. Through hard work, goal setting and dedication, YSP youth will make a difference in their lives and the lives of others.
For young people interested in YSP, please call
us at 773.772.6270 x0
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