November - December 2019
Youth
Connect
E-blast
Double the Information!
Starting November 2019, the Youth Connect e-Blast will be published every other month. The move will ensure that you get double the information on the topics you love: more scholarships, more internships, more job training programs, more news and information about DYCD and NOW contributions from youth.
National Runaway Prevention Month
DYCD funds services for Runaway & Homeless Youth that include Drop-in Centers, Crisis Services Programs, Transitional Independent Living programs, and Street Outreach and Referral Services. Visit our new discoverDYCD website to see the list of drop-in centers or call Youth Connect 1-800-246-4646. Click here to hear a very powerful message from Dominique Jackson from "Pose" on FX at last year's DYCD RHY Open Mic Night.
Advance & Earn
Advance & Earn is a new training and employment program from DYCD's Workforce Connect for youth between the ages of 16-24. The goal of the Advance & Earn Program is to help further participants career skills through comprehensive High School Equivalency (HSE) test preparation, employer-recognized trainings, credentials and certifications, and paid internships. For more information on Advance & Earn, visit our official website.
DYCD Powerful Partnerships
DYCD values the potential of partnerships and we know from experience that we are all stronger together. Considering the growing needs of the New Yorkers we serve, DYCD has learned to identify partners such as Black Rocket Productions and Maspeth Town Hall that can enhance our efforts by filling in the gaps with resources and professional development opportunities. Read more about this and other partnerships on the official DYCD LinkedIn page.
Lights on After School
Celebrating 20 Years
Fresh Youth Initiative (FYI) COMPASS HIGH participants at Gregorio Luperon High School led a school tour for SONYC participants from the FYI program at MS 505 as well as Vanderbilt YMCA @ TAG participants. Middle schoolers got the opportunity to experience activities offered at COMPASS HIGH at Gregorio Luperon High School and learned about the high school application process.
RHY Resources
Getting A Bus Ticket Home
The Home Free program from the National Runaway Safeline is intended for youth who are ready to go home. Youth can contact the Safeline to discuss how to approach their families and return home for free. Youth must be between the ages of 12 and 20 and generally must return home to a parent or legal guardian. For more information on the Home Free program, call 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929).
Thanksgiving meal for Homeless
During our 140th Thanksgiving celebration, The Bowery Mission plans to serve 15,000 meals over seven days — 7,000 on Thanksgiving Day alone — across nine campuses and with up to 25 partners in all five boroughs of New York City and in Newark, NJ. For information on ways to volunteer or donate, visit the Bowery’s website.
Ali Forney Center
The Ali Forney Center (AFC) mission is to protect LGBTQ youths from the harms of homelessness and empower them with the tools needed to live independently. The organization’s namesake, Ali Forney, was a gender-nonconforming teen who fled his home at 13. AFC’s clients come from all walks of life. More than 80% are kicked out of their homes for being who they are. The remainder run away due to abuse, neglect, or a combination of rejection and abuse.
Project Hospitality
Project Hospitality has a 30-year history of serving the needs of the poor, hungry and homeless residents of Staten Island. It is the mission of Project Hospitality to reach out to community members who are hungry, homeless or otherwise in need, in order to work with them to achieve their self-sufficiency. Youth ages 14-24 are welcome to drop in for computer access, academic tutoring, job readiness training and placements, counseling, life skills training, shelter and housing referrals, snacks and clothing, and more.
Educational Resources
Senator José Peralta NYS DREAM Act
The Senator José Peralta New York State DREAM Act gives undocumented and other students access to New York State‐administered grants and scholarships that support their higher education costs.
Samuel Huntington Public Service
The Samuel Huntington Public Service Award provides $15,000 stipends to graduating college seniors to pursue public service anywhere in the world. The Award allows recipients to engage in a meaningful public service activity for one year before proceeding on to graduate school or a career. Past award recipients have won an unsolicited, prestigious McArthur “genius” grant; been named U. S. Surgeon General; and been recognized as a Forbes “30 Under 30” entrepreneur.
Educational Opportunity Program
The State University of New York’s Educational Opportunity Program (EPO) provides access, academic support and financial aid to students who show promise for succeeding in college but who may not have otherwise been offered admission. Available primarily to full-time, matriculated students, the program supports students throughout their college careers within the University.
Brooklyn Job Corps
Brooklyn Job Corps assist young adult 17 ½ years old - 24 years old, with or without a high school diploma or high school equivalency diploma (G.E.D.). They offer six different vocational training areas: Medical Assistant, Nursing Assistant, Computer Technician, Computer Networking, Culinary Arts, and Security Officer. For more information on how to apply, contact Whitney Sheard, Outreach Admission Specialist, at sheard.whitney@jobcorps.org or call 718.623.4032.
AIDS Awareness Month
Harlem United
For nearly three decades, Harlem United has changed lives by helping marginalized communities improve their health and well-being through compassionate, client-centered care. If you are living with HIV, they have several additional programs and services to help keep you healthy. If you are unsure of your HIV status, visit them at one of their nine sites around the City for free, confidential testing.
AIDS Center of Queens County
The AIDS Center of Queens County’s (ACQC) mission is to enhance the quality of life for individuals and their families living with, and at risk for, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, and other chronic health conditions. They do this by providing comprehensive social services in a non-judgmental, safe and supportive environment, and by educating the community to reduce stigma and the transmission of HIV. All services are provided at no cost to their clients.
Shine On!
!!!Call 4 Submissions!!!
This section will highlight youth’s artwork, poetry, stories, civic engagement activities and youth-led activities. If you are or know a youth that is a part of a DYCD-funded program, please submit your work to shsmith@dycd.nyc.gov. Stay tuned for more work created by DYCD Youth!
My Brother’s & Sister’s Keeper Youth Leadership Council
My Brother’s/Sister’s Keeper Youth Council (MBSKYC) formerly known as the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council (MYLC) program, engages 20 high school youth from across the City to work with different networks of borough-based youth councils that may convene at Beacon and Cornerstone Program Sites (hubs). The Council has the opportunity to lead the process to identify a social justice issue(s) important to the local community and of potential relevance to the entire City of New York (the City) as well as work with DYCD to execute elevated community experiences.
The specific goals of the MBSKYC are to:
• Develop leadership skills; youth will have the opportunity to address social justice issues
• Conduct a Citywide one-day conference led by the MBSKYC involving all youth and adults who participated in the community benefit projects at the hubs
• Create authentic opportunities for young people to shape responses to issues in the community; inspire young people to aspire towards leadership roles
• Cultivate an ethnic of service and support community service projects throughout the City
Youth Poems
Life is Unfair
Life is unfair
I feel, the long cold stare
The harder it is to bear
Life can go pass you in a blink of an eye
Now that’s unfair
I was a kid last year
And now I’m just here
I’m sorry to say but life is unfair
And every year I fear that something deadly is out there. Something that I cannot bear. Something so unruly that when I go outside the cloak of me, I cannot wear. So I pretend, all day and all night. I do it without a fight. What that thing is I fear, that is unknown. But I fight with the world that is so unfair. Tragedy missing me by only one hair.
It’s as simple as a dare
There’s no catch phrase
But I’m sorry to say
Life is unfair
Writer - Abigail Maurice, 8th Grade
Provider - KIPP AMP
Independence!
Literally, it means, “to be free from outside control; not depending on another’s authority”However, to me, that is just the tip of the iceberg
True Independence is the ability to maintain it with consistent upkeep in being self-sufficient
Coming from someone who has a strong mindset, having to struggle and striving to thrive in this society, one must learn to be resourceful, as well as simultaneously know when to let others help, seeing that no man is an island
Because of my “unconventional” circumstances
I’ve been granted the opportunity to see the system in our society is not meant or “not intended” to make individuals within our ranks be independent
In fact, a lot of people are made to believe in everything outside of themselves. May it be from their parents & family structure, the knowledge of this education system
(that isn’t giving any real skills & knowledge to apply in real life scenarios)
Maybe their employer they may work for like a slave in a box for the next 40 yrs. or so
Or even the belief in ”God” in the sky, with nothing to do with building & uplifting self
Unless you have a strong inner circle with good structure
You won’t have Independence, like the kids coming up with none of that, & exposed to toxicity
What about those kids?
In short, no self-sufficiency is no Independence.
Writer - ~Solo Banks
Provider - Safe Horizon
Street work Project LES - Homeless Youth program
Internships
White House
The White House Internship Program is a public service leadership program that provides a unique opportunity to gain valuable professional experience and build leadership skills. Program selection process is highly competitive. Applicants are encouraged to submit a thorough application that illustrates their qualifications, character, and commitment to public service. Learn more about applying to be a White House Intern today!
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc is offering 26 internships positions for spring 2020! They are a global leader in all forms of entertainment, from movie and TV screens to mobile devices, store shelves and beyond. They work, grow and create world-class content in one of the biggest, busiest studio lots in the industry, as well as at countless studios, sets, and offices around the globe.
Doctors Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders is pleased to announce its paid Internship Program. Interns gain practical work experience and support the work of its Communications, Development, Program, Human Resources (both for the field and the office), and Executive departments. Interns also gain a basic introduction to the field of international medical humanitarian aid and advocacy. All internships will take place in the New York office and will be paid at the rate of $15.00 per hour.
To view and apply to one of their internship positions, email your resume and cover letter to internships@newyork.msf.org. When applying to an internship program for a specified term, please include the internship title and term in your email subject line. For example: IT Intern – Spring 2020. When applying to an internship program for a specified term, please include the internship title and term in your email subject line: IT Intern – Spring 2020.
Homeland Security Pathways Program
The Pathways Programs offer clear paths to federal internships for students from high school through post-graduate school and to careers for recent graduates and provide meaningful training and career development opportunities for individuals who are at the beginning of their federal service. For more information, click the program that you’re interested in below.
• Internship Program - This program is for current students enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions from high school to graduate level, with paid opportunities to work in agencies and explore Federal careers while still in school.
• Recent Graduates Program - This program is for individuals who have recently graduated from qualifying educational institutions or programs and seek a dynamic, career development program with training and mentorship.
• Presidential Management Fellows Program - For more than three decades, the PMF Program has been the Federal government’s premier leadership development program for advanced degree candidates.