Program targets minority-group kids
Posted on Saturday, July 19, 2008
A new collaborative project intended to reduce the number of youths from minority groups who get into trouble with the law was announced Friday at a press conference at the Pulaski County jail.
The program, called the Village Initiative — an acronym for Vision, Integrity, Leading, Learning, Advancing and Giving Encouragement — is designed to use mentoring to keep minority-group youths ages 15-18 from entering the juvenile-justice system. Its title and concept are based on the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” “Parents are probably the best mentors there can be, but sometimes that breaks down,” said Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines, who is ultimately responsible for the collaborative program, which incorporates about a dozen government agencies, nonprofit groups and faith-based organizations.
Organizers hope the project will reach about 250 minority-group youths living in four Little Rock ZIP codes that have high unemployment and poverty rates, low high school graduation rates and many single-parent households. Three-fourths of the members of minority groups held in the county’s juvenile jail, which has 48 beds, live in those four ZIP codes, according to a release announcing the initiative.
The Village Initiative is funded for one year by a $ 100, 000 federal Juvenile Accountability Block Grant. Securing funding to extend the program beyond one year is the goal, said Bill Ward, chairman of the Statewide Committee on Disproportionate Minority Contact, a group organized by the Arkansas Coalition for Juvenile Justice that is trying to address the high numbers of minority-group youths in the juvenile-justice system.
Youths living in the targeted neighborhoods will be referred to the program by teachers and other community members. Organizers are seeking 50-70 volunteer mentors willing to make a one-year commitment to mentor youths identified by the initiative.
Mentoring, recreational activities, remediation education in key subject areas and career counseling will be among the services available through the faith-based partners, Antioch Full Gospel Baptist Church in College Station, Gaines Street Missionary Baptist Church, the Performing Arts Institute at 34 th Street Missionary Baptist Church and PromiseLand Church Ministries.
The seven organizations that will contribute services are the Metropolitan Career-Technical Center, the Pulaski County sheriff’s office, the Pulaski County juvenile lockup, the Young Black Professionals of Arkansas, Philander Smith College, business consulting firm The Young Group Inc. and mentoring group 100 Black Men of Greater Little Rock Inc.
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