Authorizing the Mayor to submit to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare a grant application under Title III of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974

Home Browse Search

r: seling is provided. Group sessions are provided twice weekly. These sessions are voluntary. One resident is selected as leader for each session. The group is re- latively unstructured which linds itself to allowing residents to discuss anything of concern. Topics include problems with parents, problems with girl and boy- friends, attitudes and values, and problems residents encounter living day to day at the shelter. A frequent topic is relationship problems with shelter peers. The group is seen as a good way to allow youth to vent fears and frustrations in a non - threatening atmosphere. As soon as a youth is admitted, a Youth Service Bureau outreach worker is as- signed, parents are notified and the process of decision making begins. Outreach workers are required to have daily contact with clients. The effect is to lessen the frustrations felt by both parents and youth. The shelter provides the residents with a monthly educational program. Repre- sentatives from the Armed Forces, Bureau of Employment and Training, Planned Parent- hood, to name a few discuss with residents how they can use their agencies for their own betterment. All residents enrolled in local schools must attend. The residents are given bus money and in some cases, rides are provided by the Bureau staff. A daily at- tendance check is made to insure that residents are in fact in school. Many of our residents experience academic difficulties. A tutoring program has been in- stituted to provide academic assistance. The philosophy of the runaway shelter is the same as that of the Youth Service Bureau. All people are respected as individuals with their own sets of experiences and a unique perception of their world and their place in it. It is vital that staff understand and respect that uniqueness. Every possible effort is made to return the youth to his natural family. The family is the basic unit of American life, and as such, when possible, must be preserved. It is also believed that young people can make responsible decisions. Youth