03-26-18 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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REGULAR MEETING March 26, 2018 out of a program like this, I can only imagine what things could have come of it. I think we need to raise our expectation of our young people and we can do that by living by example and leaving our places of comfort. I would encourage you, as a Council, to get behind this endeavor because we need it. Our young people are in trouble. Anthony Birdie, 613 S. Oliver Street, South Bend,IN,stated,I teach bible study at Rite of Passage. I can only go off the back of what everyone else has said. You've heard it all. Rite of Passage is really helping these kids. It is time for us to stop dropping the ball. These young kids need help. They want help and a lot of them don't know how to ask for help. Rite of Passage is teaching them how to be men and live life. We are asking you to consider this. We need this. Think if you were one (1) of these young men. Ryan Yazel, 611 Leland Avenue, South Bend,IN, stated, I am one(1) of the pastors at South Bend City Church. So much good stuff has been said here. I echo what Leslie said that if this can't be in the Near Northwest where I live, I'm glad it could be in River Park. I'm a little jealous. Also what Kintae said stuck with me. This is a program that delivers. I've been working in neighborhoods and with youth for the last fifteen (15) years and the only other program I've seen that delivers anywhere close to this is Transformation Ministries and the ISI Program which I have great respect for. So, I didn't know what to expect when I first came across DePaul Academy but over time I've grown to the love the kids. We went there for a Christmas Party and didn't know what to do. Having a Christmas Party with teenage boys, it's been a while, I have daughters, I didn't know what to expect. Leslie told me to take my karaoke machine and I didn't think teenage boys would do karaoke. They are, like, too cool for that, right? But I took it and right away they were busting out classic Michael Jackson jams and it was fantastic. One (1) thing I noticed, after a bit of time, there was one (1) of the students who was different than the rest in a lot of ways. He wanted to get up and he wanted to sing 1970s country songs and I didn't know where this was coming from. The well-respected schools that I grew up in, a boy that was as different as this boy was, would have been bullied and ostracized. But this kid got up and sang this song and the other students surrounded him and tried to sing the song with him with their arms around each other. That type of character in these students is something you don't see in teenagers. I hope my own daughters can grow up to have character like that. I am a foster and adoptive parent. In our State, we are having a massive shortage of foster parents due to the opioid crisis. In the last year, one (1) out of every six (6) babies born in the state were born with drugs in their system. My daughter was one (1) of those babies. That is a really complicated problem and there is not a lot we can do about it but this is one (1) of the things we can do about the opioid crisis and about the shortage of foster care. This is a practical action we can take and I encourage you to make this decision. James Hosey, 1702 Medora Street, South Bend, IN, stated, My wife and I were actually part of that Christmas party, through South Bend City Church, and God really put a heaviness on our hearts for these boys. Specifically teenage boys that are neglected or cast aside by society and not wanted in the foster care system. A lot of people that foster kids want younger kids,not teenagers. Rite of Passage is doing just an amazing job that we really felt a call to get more involved. Much like the ladies from Notre Dame, my wife and I have volunteered to also do an arts thing on Saturdays with the boys. We have only done a few so far,but we've had eleven(11)or twelve (12) guys consistently want to be a part of that program. It has been a blessing to us. Ike has always asked if we want to come back and want to come back as often as we can for as long as we can. We are actually in the process of going through background checks to be a long-term volunteer with this program. We believe in what this program is doing. These boys are amazing, well- disciplined and polite. This Woodford Home will be an asset to our community. Makenzie Gaughan, 1811 Lincolnway East,Mishawaka, IN, stated, I was born and raised in South Bend. I lived my whole life in South Bend and will be moving back to South Bend in three (3) years and am really excited. I am looking at River Park as the area to move back to. I'm really excited about you taking into consideration all of these individual opinions. People are looking forward to this being part of the community. I volunteer as well at South Bend City Church and these young men have amazing manners. I have a fourteen(14) year old son and I hope he learns from these young men. Also, as a business entrepreneur, it would be an honor to have these young men work with me. It would be an honor for me to see this new facility in River Park and donate 18