Housing Resources Incorporated

The mission of Housing Resources, Inc. (HRI) is the assurance of housing for the economically and socially vulnerable persons of Kalamazoo County. One way that HRI meets this mission is through Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH). PSH is a nationally recognized, cost-effective, proven solution to the needs of vulnerable people with disabilities who are homeless. PSH combines affordable housing assistance with voluntary support services while connecting people with community based resources including physical and mental health care and treatment. In many cases, PSH ends chronic homelessness for individuals and families.

Through our HUD PSH program HRI serves families of individuals with disabilities. Families may receive rental assistance and supportive services until their child(ren) turn 18 or exit the program. Individuals with disabilities may live at HRI’s Rickman House — an historic building with 49 beautifully renovated units — as long as they choose, with a rental subsidy and supportive services.

HRI believes that everyone deserves a home. The PSH program allows individuals and families experiencing homelessness the opportunity for housing stabilization, maximum levels of self-suffciency and an overall better quality of life.

For more information, visit www.housingresourcesinc.org

Human Services  Posted by 03 Jun 2019

KRESA WoodsEdge Learning Center

Kalamazoo RESA’s WoodsEdge Learning Center is an innovative school dedicated to developing independence in our students. Our students have varied disabilities (cognitive impairments, severe multiple impairments, autism, blindness, hearing impairments) but also many abilities. We are driven by our vision of a community without barriers, and teach our students in community places outside the school environment.

Music therapy is a part of our program that capitalizes on something nearly all students love. In music therapy, students learn about rhythm, singing, dance, and feelings associated with the music they hear. Students experience visits from performers from our community who share their music, dance, and storytelling. Each year students also attend performances in the community, an activity some may not otherwise experience.

The major focus of music therapy is to give students another way to learn new skills, to teach the joy of music of all genres, and to give them an opportunity to show us their talents. Some students have discovered hidden singing talents and the ability to play the piano by ear, and when they express themselves through music they remind us that life is to be enjoyed. The smiles, dancing during concerts, and exuberant clapping are great lessons for the adults who support our students too.

For more information, visit www.kresa.org/woodsedge

Health and Well-Being  Posted by 03 Jun 2019

Residential Opportunities Incorporated

In 1978, Residential Opportunities, Inc. (ROI) began operations with specifc goals in mind: to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) come home from state institutions, rejoin our community, and experience fuller and more enriched lives. Forty years ago people lived in institutions or with their families, with limited access to education or employment. Back then, there were very few services available in the community for someone with a signifcant disability.

Today, in partnership with Kalamazoo Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and other similar organizations, individuals supported by ROI thrive in our community — with or near family and friends. Today, individuals with an IDD celebrate birthdays and holidays, work and play in the community, take vacations with friends and family and have access to high-quality health care. Today, individuals with an IDD live alongside all of us, in specialized residential licensed group homes, supported living programs, or affordable rental housing apartments in neighborhoods with flexible staffng supports.

ROI’s focus is on helping the individuals we serve pursue their goals, dreams, and desires by providing the necessary tools to help people determine what a meaningful life looks like to them — whether it’s seeing the Detroit Tigers play, shopping in a marketplace, enjoying a play at the Civic Theatre, going to Disney World or on a Caribbean cruise. We have even helped people get married and have a honeymoon. Our Representative Payee Services program has helped people manage their money for nearly 40 years. Additionally, we have created a state-of-the-art intensive autism treatment program and outpatient treatment programs for children with autism. If past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior, the next 40 years should generate even more success for hundreds of people with disabilities.

For more information, visit www.residentialopportunities.org

Human Services  Posted by 03 Jun 2019

SLD Read

The National Institute of Health reports that an astounding 20% of children entering our schools face signifcant challenges in learning to read. Their research fnds that if these children do not receive appropriate intervention by the age of nine, 74% of them will never close the reading gap.

SLD Read’s vision is a community working together for literacy that empowers all individuals to achieve their full potential. To reach this vision, we: help individuals with dyslexia, learning differences, and other reading challenges to develop lifelong language skills through our multisensory program; assist educators to identify learning challenges and provide training and techniques to enhance their reading curriculum; and increase community awareness and understanding of literacy issues.

We make reading possible through the following programs:

• Testing and evaluation services that assess reading skills and focus areas to determine an individualized plan of action for each student we serve.

• Highly-trained tutors that provide one-to-one tutoring using an explicit, sequential and cumulative, multisensory approach to address key literacy elements. These services are available to parents who come directly to SLD Read. Fees are on a sliding scale based on family size and income. Tutoring is also available through school-based programs that happen during the school day with no charge to the parents or students.

• Professional development courses that help educators to understand reading challenges and incorporate strategies to help all learners succeed in the classroom. Individual educators can attend these courses, and school-building and district-wide trainings are available.

• Community workshops for community organizations, parents, educators, tutors, and students that promote literacy and increase the understanding around struggling readers.

For more information, visit www.sldread.org

Education  Posted by 03 Jun 2019

Kalamazoo Youth Development Network

Kalamazoo County is home to over 40,000 school-age youth, approximately 5,500 of whom participate in quality out-of-school time (OST) programming. Research demonstrates that when OST participation is high, there is no gap between the math achievement of low- and higher-income children at grade five. We also know that when OST participation is high, youth are more likely to attend and engage in school and to graduate on time.

The Kalamazoo Youth Development Network (KYD Network), formed in 2000 with the support of the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation (Foundation) and others, serves as the OST intermediary for Kalamazoo County. Our vision is that all youth are college-ready, career-ready, and community-ready by 21. We achieve this vision by ensuring that all Kalamazoo County youth, ages 5 to 21, have access to high-quality, youth-driven OST experiences that are inclusive, culturally relevant, well coordinated and that use resources efficiently to reduce disparities among youth. We work directly with more than 40 youth-serving organizations, many of which are funded by the Foundation.

Over the past four years, through the support of the Foundation, KYD Network has undergone a transformation. Our reach has increased from having seven youth-serving organizations in our “cohort” to more than 40. The tie that binds the cohort is a common focus on quality, because research shows that the higher the quality of the learning environment in OST, the better the outcomes for youth.

In order to better understand how to improve quality of OST programming, KYD Network partners with the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality to implement the Youth Program Quality Intervention (YPQI) with our 40 cohort members. The YPQI is an evidence-based continuous quality improvement process that requires organizations to use a tool called the Youth Program Quality Assessment (YPQA). This tool has been researched and proven to be a reliable and valid measure of program quality for youth-development organizations. YPQA data are collected three times a year so that organizations can make improvements in their programming. Data from internal and external assessments are compared and each organization has access to a national database so that it can gauge its performance to similar organizations across the country.

Data from the YPQA have shown steady improvements in the quality of learning environments in our cohort (visit our website at www.kydnet.org for details). This is important because, again, we know that the higher the quality of the learning environment, the better the outcomes for youth. KYD Network also focuses on social-emotional learning (SEL) and uses the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) to track improvements in youth who participate in OST programming. Research demonstrates that as youth gain SEL skills — self-management, goal directed behavior, decision making — they do better in school and have more prosocial behavior. We have documented that the longer youth attend our cohort member’s programs, the more they gain these important skills.

A critical element to creating high-quality OST programming is youth voice, providing intentional and authentic opportunities for youth to design, implement, and evaluate OST programming and shape their community. KYD Network facilitates the Kalamazoo County Youth Cabinet (KCYC), a youth council made up of 10 youth from the county who work on issues they have identified as important to them and their community. KCYC is currently partnering with Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes on a photo-voice project to identify food insecurity in their lives and communities. Through workshop creation and facilitation, they are also helping to create learning opportunities for youth and adults to become allies in reducing stigma around mental health, creating a cadre of trained adults who can better support youth. The Foundation supported KYD Network’s partnership with The Neutral Zone, a youth-driven organization in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to provide training and coaching to KCYC during its first year of operation. KCYC has utilized and shared the skills learned from The Neutral Zone with both new members and other Youth Advisory Councils.

Through the support of the Foundation, KYD Network offered two workshops in collaboration with Dr. Robert Root-Bernstein, a MacArthur Fellow, eminent research physiologist, leading authority on the connection between art and science, and co-author of the New York Times best-selling book, Sparks of Genius. These workshops addressed the integration of the arts into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, thereby converting “STEM” to “STEAM.” Dr. Root-Bernstein further guided participants through his 13 thinking tools for creative problem-solving and provided hands-on strategies for helping youth gain the skills they need to be successful in the 21st century.

Over the last four years, KYD Network has been able to create a well-functioning OST system guided by quality standards, common outcomes for youth, core competencies for Youth Development Professionals, a community-wide approach to summer learning, and collaboration among our cohort members. The Foundation continues to play an instrumental role in supporting KYD Network’s growth and impact, helping to ensure that all youth are college-ready, career-ready, and community-ready by 21.

For more information, visit www.kydnet.org.

Human Services  Posted by 18 May 2018

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo

The mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo is to enhance the quality of life of young people through education, art, health, and recreation, especially for those who need us most.

Boys and Girls Clubs are open after school to provide educational and recreational programs free of charge to youth in the community. Boys and Girls Clubs is dedicated to ensuring that the youth in Kalamazoo have a safe place to go, and access to quality programs and services that enhance their lives and shape their futures. We offer programming in five core areas:

  • Participating Arts — encourages creativity, focus, the importance of practice, and helps young people see the beauty in the world around them. The program offers youth the opportunity to participate in many art forms including digital, performing, and visual arts.
  • Character & Leadership Development — helps to instill confidence and a sense of self-worth that will remain with youth for years to come.
  • Education & Career Development — provides educational and professional guidance, tutoring, and mentoring, and gives members the tools to become successful adults and the confidence to achieve their scholastic and professional goals.
  • Health & Life Skills — encourages young people to engage in positive behaviors that nurture their own well-being and helps them set personal goals and live successfully as self-sufficient, healthy beings.
  • Sports, Fitness & Recreation — encourages youth to develop an understanding of and passion for fitness, sportsmanship, and teamwork. With different sports leagues and daily gym activities, youth always have an opportunity to be active.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo has three units located in neighborhoods where youth development opportunities are greatly needed — the Lake Street Unit is located in the Edison Neighborhood, the Douglass Unit in the Northside Neighborhood, and the Northeastern Unit in the Eastside Neighborhood. In addition to afterschool programming, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo offers a residential summer camp and programming for youth from each unit during summer break.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo helps young people make healthy and productive decisions by providing programs that address the developmental needs of youth, a safe environment in which to learn, supportive adult relationships, and recognition of individual potential.

For more information, visit www.bgckzoo.org.

Human Services  Posted by 18 May 2018

Douglass Community Association

Douglass Community Association has two youth programs: Douglass Young Men of Promise and Girls Inventing Real Life Solutions. These are both offered after school.

Douglass Young Men of Promise was created after Grad Nation Summit in which young men expressed a desire for a program in which they received mentoring programming that was reflective of who they were and also who they could be. The youth expressed a need for connection with men in the community and an opportunity to connect in ways they had not before. Through this program young men are connected with men in the community who can show them their options for opportunity while also simply showing up to support the youth who are present. The end goal of the program is to assist the young men in obtaining their “promise.”

Girls Inventing Real Life Solutions is designed for girls to have a strong sense of self in a world in which they are bombarded with messages that tell them that will never measure up. This program is about affirmation and connection to the community and one another. The work that is done is both trauma informed and culturally relevant. Girls are connected with women in various careers and provided opportunity to explore what it means to be who they are in a judgment-free environment.

Youth voice is the most important aspect of both of these groups. The young men and the young women both have input into the design and many times the day-to-day of what they will receive from participating. Youth participate in volunteer/community service within the community in which they reside. This creates a sense of responsibility for one’s own environment. We are reaching youth ages 13 – 25. The youth also participate in social-justice learning opportunities. Creating equity in opportunity for those who need it most, that is Douglass Young Men of Promise and Girls Inventing Real Life Solutions.

For more information, visit www.dcakalamazoo.com.

Community Development  Posted by 18 May 2018

Parks and Recreation Department, City of Kalamazoo

The entire community benefits as a result of recreation programs, special events, and parks as they all help us develop better citizens. How adolescents spend their leisure time undoubtedly impacts their developmental trajectory. As such, a focal point of examination for those in the fields of youth development and delinquency prevention is how adolescents spend their leisure time after school and during the summer months.

Living in a playful city brings the community together with activities that focus on youth and families. The offering of recreation programs that engage youth and families and provide the opportunity for play is one strategy that helps individuals establish a sense of community and belonging. These programs also attract citizens across generations, which is also instrumental in the growth and development of youth.

Youth Development is one of three priorities addressed in the Parks & Recreation Department’s Strategic Plan. We define youth development as: “The intentional efforts of staff, residents, and partnering agencies to provide opportunities for youth to enhance their interests, skills, and abilities into their adulthood.”

Two programs that address the leisure time needs of youth in Kalamazoo are After School Programs and “Super Rec” (supervised playground sites). After School Program sites include the Youth Development Center and Station 5. Both sites are staffed with amazing young people who desire to positively impact youth in our community. Homework is a priority and must be completed prior to any “play” time.

“Super Rec” is offered at four sites in the city (Hispanic American Council, Oakwood Neighborhood Association, New Horizon Village, and at LaCrone Park). Youth attend this free program that is staffed with young adults who coordinate a variety of activities during the day. This program is offered from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, and averaged 30 youth per site in 2017.

For more information, visit www.kzooparks.org.

Community Development  Posted by 18 May 2018

Portage Community Center

Portage Community Center’s Youth Program’s mission is to strengthen the community by developing life skills through social-emotional learning to build a society where all youth thrive. Our programs target underserved youth who have limited access or no access to quality out-of-school time programming.

At PCC our youth programs have always approached our work through lenses of youth voice, social justice, and equity by:

  • Meeting the youth where they are.
  • Embracing and celebrating diversity.
  • Providing strengths-based social-emotional learning to engage youth in the practice of knowing their own emotional lives and building empathy for others.
  • Offering youth-voice opportunities to counter ageism and adultism.

We are active members of the Kalamazoo Youth Development Network and are committed to providing the highest level of youth program quality through evaluation, planning, and the continual professional development of our staff. We utilize evidence-based methods from leading youth development partners, including the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, Devereux Center for Resilient Children, and the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children. Our staff are known statewide and nationally as leaders in youth development, social-emotional learning, and trauma-informed practices — all built on a foundation of collaboration and a deep respect for the youth and families we serve. We believe that all youth need safe and supportive environments where they can learn and have fun while developing skills to make life better for themselves and their community.

We are proud of our youth and of the fact that, when asked about our youth programs, they told us that “Portage Community Center feels like home.”

For more information, visit www.portagecommunitycenter.org.

Arts, Culture & Humanities  Posted by 18 May 2018

Prevention Works

Since 1995, Prevention Works has been the community’s foremost nonprofit in prevention and health education services. We serve thousands of local youth and families, many of whom come from marginalized communities, economically challenged backgrounds, and/or are struggling to maintain the unification of their family. To make the greatest impact, Prevention Works uses a multistrategy approach with a mission of giving people tools to make healthy decisions. Prevention Works partners with more than 100 local organizations. Our programs are effective, evidence-based, and demonstrate positive outcomes for our community — in particular, demonstrating long term, positive impact on youth development.

Just one of the many programs that show positive outcomes for youth development is Peer POWER, which was developed with the help of outside evaluators. Peer POWER is an afterschool program geared toward youth ages 9 – 13 and designed to increase the likelihood that youth make healthy, positive decisions and resist peer pressure. There are 12 sessions of learning in two different curriculum topics: Substance Abuse Prevention and Violence Prevention. Peer POWER is based on the Health Belief Model, uses a Peer Education approach to program delivery, and is facilitated by high-school-age Peer Educators. Oversight is provided by one adult Outreach Worker at each session. All staff are highly trained in the program curricula, facilitation skills, professionalism, positive behavioral support, cultural sensitivity, trauma-informed practice, and social-emotional learning and development. The program mutually serves the high-school-age Peer Educators by increasing individual social and emotional development and positively impacting school and work readiness.

Peer Educators and Outreach Workers are recruited from the target population and represent marginalized communities. The youth participants have the opportunity to experience a diverse team of educators who serve as positive role models and mentors. Peer Educators not only deliver accurate educational information, but also work to enhance a sense of community and collaboration within the target neighborhoods and among the participants.

For more information, visit www.prevention-works.org.

Human Services  Posted by 18 May 2018