Theory of Change: If youth are offered a supportive and challenging leadership environment that values their engagement, perspective and growth then youth are empowered to invest and contribute to their own and their community’s development.
Dudley Youth Council (DYC) – Neighborhood youth formed the DYC with the mission is to establish a united youth voice in the Dudley area, motivating and empowering young people to better the local and broader community through positive action. DYC meets weekly, welcomes youth, facilitate their own meetings and develop goals and plans throughout the year. The most recent highlights are the monthly DYC radio shows, game and theme nights and sports tournaments. Youth chose radio topics, roles and develop each show. Recent topics include What does the American Dream Mean to You?, The Lack of Teen Jobs, The Evolution of Hip Hop and lending a youth perspective to other issues. For more up-to-date information check out Dudley Youth Council on Facebook.
GOTCHA Youth Jobs Collaborative—DSNI is the lead agency working with five organizations in Roxbury and Dorchester (Bowdoin Street Health Center, Bird Street Community Center, Dorchester Bay EDC and The City School) as the GOTCHA (Get off the Corner Hanging Around) collaborative which advocates for youth jobs, connects hundreds of youth with opportunities to cultivate professional skills that have a positive influence on their future academic and professional endeavors at 20 different sites. GOTCHA’s vision is a collaboration among youth and community partners that strengthens the economic power of the community and families. GOTCHA fosters youth leadership and builds vibrant caring community through meaningful employment opportunities and connects to other critical resources that include personal, emotional and intellectual supports. The nonprofits involved with GOTCHA are committed to supporting youth employment and continuing to develop their capacity to work effectively with teens, and the organizations include: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Bird Street Community Center, Boston Children’s Museum, Bowdoin Street Health Center, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Children’s Services of Roxbury, Cape Verdean Community UNIDO, Dorchester Bay EDC, Dudley Neighbors Incorporated, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, Emerson Elementary School, Pilgrim Daycare, Project Hope, Rosa Parks Daycare, Roxbury Defenders, Sunnyside Daycare, Talented And Gifted, The City School, The Salvation Army Children’s Learning Center, The Salvation Army Human Resources, The Salvation Army Kroc Center, Uphams Corner Health Center, Uphams Corner Library, Urban Pride and Youth & Police in Partnership. For more information check out the website at www.gotchayouthjobs.org.
Dudley Children Thrive: Community Developing Children (DCT) is a new initiative developed by a group of local agencies convened by DSNI. DCT engages Project Hope, Children’s Services of Roxbury, and La Alianza Hispana as partners in addressing the needs of Dudley neighborhood children, from birth age to 5 years, and their families. The collaborative’s mission is to strengthen the Dudley community’s capacity to develop high achieving and healthy children. To accomplish this, the Dudley Children Thrive will work toward two shared goals: a) Build capacity among local organizations, merchants, service providers, and others to provide high quality programs, resources and information, and b) Build capacity among families be primary educators and advocates for quality childcare. This initiative has received a major grant from Thrive in 5, a public-private partnership sponsored by Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, with additional funding partners including the Barr Foundation, Boston Medical Center, Boston Public Schools / Community Partnerships for Children, Children's Hospital Boston, the Eos Foundation, Partners HealthCare, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
College Bound—DSNI’s College Bound program introduces Dudley neighborhood youth to post-secondary opportunities by organizing trips to colleges, linking students to college students from the neighborhood and by hosting workshops for families on the application process.
Education Reform-- DSNI engages parents and families in the issues facing students in the Boston Public Schools and education reform. DSNI is a member of the board of the Boston Parent Organizing Network (BPON) is active local school as well as in citywide campaigns to address systemic policy issues.
Improving Educational Performance -- DSNI is gathering data about educational and personal growth from the youth in our programs; e.g., annual goal setting process and we’ve asked to show see school report cards. We plan next to work with specific schools, to identify youth who would be willing to be tracked as they craft and then follow Individual Development Plans with goals for 1) Individual Improvement; 2) Academic Achievement; 3) Social Capital; 4) Community Building and 5) Employment Goals. We anticipate that this will strengthen students’ sense of themselves as agents of change and enable them to reach personal and community goals, with positive impact on the youth achievement.
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