The
Burrowes Street Youth Haven offers an outreach dynamic to its
programming. This aspect of the shelter is responsible for
publicizing the program to the community and possible clients
through presentations, workshops, and street outreach. The Outreach
Counselor also works directly with police and school personnel to
identify community needs and issues regarding runaway and homeless
youth. In collaboration with the Youth Service Bureau's outreach
team, StreetWorks, counseling, education and youth development
services are available to reach the population that are not already
working with this agency.The StreetWorks' team objectives are to
find and develop communication with the target population: at risk
youth between the ages of 11 and 18. Once this population is
located, the goal is then to establish a connection with the youth,
provide a link to services, and offer positive development and
prevention activities and to create healthy relations between adults
and youth. It is our desire to also help facilitate working
relationships between youth and their community and to provide
counseling or guidance where and when it is needed.
Currently, the StreetWorks team is present once a month at the
Bellefonte and Snowshoe Youth Centers to do teambuilding and youth
development activities. Tutoring programs are underway in Milesburg,
PA as well as the Ashworth Housing Development located in Boalsburg,
PA. StreetWorks holds monthly activities for youth in various
communities that have been identified as either high risk or lacking
a fun, safe place for adolescents to spend time. In addition, the
StreetWorks team has gathered data and begun meetings for a
community-mapping project, so that each community's resources and
concerns (designed by the community itself) will be known and then
considered for specific programming.
Some
concrete examples of activities provided by the StreetWorks team in
the summer of 2005 includes: a community garden created in the
Ashworth park, hiking with youth at Shingletown, youth participation
in a volunteer planning committee to decide on community service
activities they would like to be part of, etc.Any youth are
welcome to become a part of this group. If you are interested or
know someone who may be interested, please call the Burrowes Street
Youth Haven at 814-234-0803, and ask for the Outreach Counselor.
Hope to hear from you soon!