Recognizing that our efforts to
improve the health of Coatesville area youth requires more
than providing medical services, we secured funding from the
William Penn Foundation, ArcelorMittal, the Chester County
District Attorney’s Office and the
United Way of Chester County to conduct a year-long planning
process with the goal of launching a Youth Development Initiative
for the Coatesville area this fall. Community members requested
we step forward to play a neutral organizing role to address
what many viewed as a deteriorating set of circumstances for
young people ages 12-24 in Coatesville. While many small organizations
run programs for youth, their services are underfunded and
often duplicate each other, staff have little access to professional
development opportunities, and many agencies who serve the
same young people had never even met until the Initiative’s
meetings began.
Since the planning process began in July of last year, more
than 80 individuals and 40 organizations and agencies have
come together on a monthly basis to meet, share information,
explore the community’s assets, programs and existing
services, and to set priorities for the future.
The major outcome we sought this year was to serve as a catalyst
for the Coatesville community of stakeholders, enabling them
to create a comprehensive vision of how to support the needs
of older youth as evidenced by a strategic plan document. We
are proud that so many community residents and organizations
came forward and remained involved in the process – and
that so many are now signing up to work in four identified
four program areas we are pursuing:
- Pathways Beyond High School: Helping young people graduate from high school with a plan
for additional education or employment;
- Greater Parental Engagement: Establishing a network of supports and resources for adults,
parents and grandparents to build stronger relationships
with youth;
- Mentoring Relationships with Adults: Building
relationships with youth to provide guidance and support;
and
- Optimized Resources Through Better
Program Coordination: Creating a network of youth organizations and
programs with coordinated communications, scheduling and
improved service delivery.
Click here if you would like
to download the Community Plan for the Coatesville Youth
Initiative, a coordinated approach
to address the problems of crime, drug and alcohol abuse, and
helping young people prepare for a productive adulthood. The
executive summary of the plan can be downloaded here.
The foundation is proud to embark on what we hope will be
a long term effort to turn around the City of Coatesville and
its surrounding communities, beginning with creating opportunities
for young people to grow up to become healthy and productive
citizens. If you are interested in getting involved, please
contact us -- we’d love to hear from you!
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