Youth Programs
This morning the Didi Barrett campaign sent out an email message that included this rather amazing statement: "No turnout figures or percentage of the vote begin to tell the stories of the people, young and old, that I connected with over these last nine months. Inner city moms shared hopes for their young children, asking why there are no youth programs in Poughkeepsie or Hudson. . . ."
No youth programs in Hudson? In 2010, the City of Hudson spent $456,076 on youth programs and maintaining the Youth Center. The Hudson Opera House has a full roster of youth programs, the vast majority of them free. Then there's Operation Unite New York, the not-for-profit that provides educational, cultural, and recreational programs for youth, and TSL. And this is all above and beyond the award-winning afterschool programs and the extracurricular activites offered by the Hudson City School District, where more than $20,000 is spent each year to educate each child.
So where does the perception that "there are no youth programs in Hudson" come from? Is this spin from the Barrett campaign trying to portray her as being in touch with people who "have felt ignored for way too long" by Senator Saland? Or are there really "inner city moms" in Hudson who believe that there are no youth programs? If the latter is the case, the next logical question is why do they think this? Is this a problem of communication? Do these parents really not know what is available to their children? Or is there some disconnect between the progams being offered--by the City of Hudson, by the public schools, by the not-for-profits--and what these parents think would improve their children's lives?
The picture, from the Hudson Opera House website, shows Fran Martino with youth in the Environmental Education Program offered by the Hudson Opera House.
Yeah, that's a funny quote. There are several youth program organizations in Poughkeepsie, too. I think it's fair to say that there could be more (and better) youth programs. "Inner City" is a funny euphemism when referring to people in Hudson.
ReplyDeleteCarole, in my experience the latter possibility is true. Many of the "inner-city moms" I have spoken to while canvassing with Didi (and on my own) have made those statements.
ReplyDeleteI think the answers to the logical questions include the following:
1. Geographic distribution of programs - Hudson is compact for mobile adults, but parents living on the West side of the city may feel the summer programs at Oakdale are too far for their younger children to attend on their own.
2. Demographics - There appear to be gaps in age-appropriate programs for the youngest children as well as older teens.
3. Communication - There is apparently room for improvement in the communications capability of all the organizations you mentioned. They each have their approach (direct mail, posters, email) but there may be segments of the parent population that (either) aren't getting the message or for whom this message doesn't register.
4. Class and race - This goes along with the communication issue, in that certain programs and venues may be perceived by parents as unwelcoming or over-represented by kids who are members of other tribes.
I think it might be helpful for the organizations who run these programs to create a consortium (on the same lines as the "Health Care Consortium) which would facilitate sharing of information and resources to eliminate overlap, identify gaps and potentially provide a more effective set of services to their shared constituency (children).
Michael's suggestions are excellent. But I can understand the "inner city moms" comment (that's a euphemism, not a nice one)since the Youth Center has, despite the money spent, become more and more removed from the kids living in the 2nd ward (Bliss Towers, etc.). That was not the case when it was the Boys & Girls Club and made a real point of serving those kids. It now suffers from too many politics. It should be moved to where the majority of the kids are, for example, but it won't be done because, as one politico told me, "the white kids won't go down there." This is a hard story to tell in a short space, but Yes, there are lots of programs for kids and Yes, they are in poor locations.
ReplyDelete--peter meyer
Sounds clueless. It's also hard to believe that there are no programs in Poughkeepsie. maybe this is why she got trounced by Saland.
ReplyDelete-- Jock Spivy
I worked in Poughkeepsie for several years offering youth programs though a non-profit media arts organization. While there are definitely wonderful organizations offering engaging, fun programs for youth in Poughkeepsie, the organization that I worked for was hit hard by decreased funding at the state and county levels and saw partner organizations suffering as well - at least one going bankrupt - and programs being cut due to insufficient funding. Communication is often a problem as well - how to reach the youth and their parents. Many schools that I have reached out to over the years (I can't chime in on Hudson yet!) to try to get the word out to students, have not been receptive. I am not sure why this is. It seems like helping students learn about free after-school and weekend enrichment programs would be of benefit to the school community.
ReplyDeletePart of what these comments tell us, though, is how fractured our communities are; I mean, how little real communication takes place among and between various community "groups." I don't doubt for a minute that people told Didi Barrett that there were "no" programs for kids; and I also don't doubt that there ARE programs. A Youth Center WHERE the KIDS LIVE would surely help....
ReplyDeleteGary Schiro, executive director of the Hudson Opera House, shared this comment:
ReplyDeleteFor the record - we have programs for kids of all ages beginning with toddlers. And yes, communication is a constant struggle when we aim to reach community members that don't read the paper, have access to the internet, or may not even have the means to stay in touch with their own child about activities that they are involved in. Our solution at HOH is to work with partner organizations (both social service and arts) that work with this constituency and try to develop fresh approaches (all well beyond email, posters and mailings) for new programs, and new constituencies. HOH staff have been engaged in all of this for years. And will be for years. Our experience has shown us there is no quick fix, and we have to constantly re-evaluate our approaches.
Our son was blessed to be able to take advantage of the many HOH programs for kids. Super Super Super. Thank you, Gary, and the rest of the team!
ReplyDelete--peter meyer
and ... at the Intermediate school there is, right now, an after-school program that serves 240 kids everyday... EVERYDAY. There is also a program at the Jr. High and and for credit programs at the High School. It's too bad Didi didn't do her homework.
ReplyDeletePaula, Didi was just reporting on what parents told her. There isn't any question about the fact that there are programs. The questions have to do with how these parents got that impression, to what extent it reflects the reality and how the problems in perception and/or reality can be addressed.
ReplyDelete