Youth Development Department
Bresee’s Youth Development Department provides a program experience to help youth live a fulfilling life by fostering social and emotional development, increase leadership skills through advocacy and civic engagement and paid job internships and fomenting strong relationships with their support systems and community. The department does so by 3 interconnected programs:
- Youth Development
- Monarch Project
- City Ambassadors
Each program encompasses a unique framework to help support the youth and family in their family development as well as the social emotional skills for positive youth development, civic leadership and skills for job-ready placement.
Gang Reduction & Youth Development
The GRYD prevention program implements a care first, strength based approach to help youth and families connect at a deeper level through restorative dialogue, intentional youth development activities, family and cultural history, and stories that deepen their understanding of their history through family dialogue.
Youth referred to our prevention program need to be between 10-15 years of age.
Through GRYD, youth develop the necessary social assets through 6 social emotional learning components:
- Emotion Management
- Empathy
- Teamwork
- Initiative
- Responsibility
- Problem Solving
In addition to making positive connections within the family, clients also navigate community resources including mental health with the help and support of GRYD staff, addressing crises as they happen.
Monarch Project
The Monarch Project provides a safe space for undocumented middle and high school youth to foster the necessary skills , resources and relationships necessary to thrive.
The program’s goal is to increase social-emotional learning, provide a pathway to college and career access, learn how to make responsible decisions, guiding work permits and career choices, and developing relationships with key policy stakeholders in an effort to elevate youth voices, when possible.
City Ambassador
The City Ambassadors aims to help youth learn about local and state government, functions of governmental departments, important stakeholders in public policy decision making, and to learn about the essential skills necessary in community organizing. Students will focus on a social justice issue and apply the community organizing skills learned to advocate for change in their community. In addition, students will be given opportunities for job placement at different partner sites to gain valuable work experience.
