Community Concerns
Working families are concerned that their children have a safe place to go during the after school hours while parents are at work. Parents concerned about their children’s afterschool care miss an average of eight days of work per year, costing businesses up to $300 billion annually.(3)
This issue is an impact to the economy but also an impact to each family raising a young person while working full time. Our program provides a safe and supportive environment for high school aged youth to spend their after school hours.
Every day 2,805 children enter the juvenile justice system in the United States.(4) Although there are many reasons why our youth fall into this circumstance, the activities young people engage in during the critical hours of 3pm to 6pm – the hours after school ends and parents typically return from work – can have a direct impact on this statistic.
By offering students a productive activity during these hours our program provides an alternative to activities that could have a lasting negative impact on a young person’s life. Their participation in the program also helps shine a light on the potential for their futures, and gives them a role in a project in which they can experience pride.
Sources:
1) “Research-Based Practices in Afterschool Programs for High School Youth” Janell Holstead, Mindy Hightower King, and Ashley Miller
2) YMCA of the USA, March 2001
3) youth.gov and Brandeis University, Community, Families and Work Program, 2004 and Catalyst & Brandeis University 2006
4) Children’s Defense Fund, The State of America’s Children 2017 Report