Vashon and South King County Community Organizing
Vashon
and South King County, while growing rapidly, has not always
had the advantages of Seattle. Youth in Vashon and South King
County have expressed the feeling that there is nothing for
them to do. Kids with "nothing to do" are far more likely
to turn to substance abuse and violence than youth who are
offered positive alternatives. The King County Community Organizing
Program is committed to working with South King County communities
to solve the issues and concerns around prevention which they
have identified.
Introducing Vashon and South King County
Community Organizer
Cheryl Hanson is a tireless advocate for the residents of South King County. By working closely with different areas of the community she has a complete picture of the way most residents would like their communities to be. Cheryl's talent brings community members together to work toward positive solutions to substance abuse and violence.
Cheryl's main objectives:
- Developing and implementing programs that serve youth.
- Marketing and delivering programs that lead to a reduction in the prevalence of alcohol and other drug problems among youth.
- Promoting and implementing programs with strategies to prevent child abuse and youth violence.
- Creating and implementing conflict resolution techniques.
Contact Cheryl
Hanson for more information.
Featured projects on Vashon Island and in South King County
Vashon Prevention/Intervention Team
This coalition works to create strategies to coordinate services
and improve outcomes for the island's youth. Participants
include, Vashon Island School District, Connections (Readiness
to Learn Consortium), DOIT (Development of Island Teens),
PTSA, parents, Vashon Youth Council and YMCA . The group meets
monthly and puts on prevention forums and community dialogues
(including the popular Youth/Adult Dialogues) about the issues
affecting youth.
Cambodian Youth Support Coalition
The Cambodian Youth Support Coalition (CYSCO) targets services to Cambodian youth living in the White Center to Burien area. Ruth Dykeman Children's Center oversees the projects. Most of these youth attend schools in the Highline School District.
A Coalition goal is to create an ongoing, sustainable coalition of organizations and community groups dedicated to address the problems of youth violence and victimization among Cambodian youth. Another goal is to increase family and parent awareness surrounding thse issues and reduce the number of incidents involving Cambodian youth.
The overall goal of this coalition is to increase the sense of bonding to community, school and family with all Cambodian youth. KCCOP supports this coalition with technical assistance and mini grants. Call Emily Emerson at Ruth Dykeman Center, 206-243-5544 ext 308 for meeting dates, times and locations.
South King County Youth Coalition
Monthly meetings are held at the Good Neighbor Center found at 305 43rd St., Renton WA. Everyone concerned with youth and the issues that surround them are encouraged to attend. The theme for 2004 is: Weaving Community Threads to Ensure the Success of Our Youth. Meetings are the first Thursday of each month, 11:30-1:30. Our meeting topics change each month, but all contain important resource information, education facts and brainstorming from effective adults who have an overall goal to help youth succeed in all areas of their lives. This group is chaired by Cheryl Hanson - KCCOP, Lori Guilfoyle - United Way of King County and Chief Ed Crawford - Kent Police Department. Contact Cheryl for more details.
Get On Track (Black Diamond Community Center)
Get On Track is a 14 session program focusing on educating youth, ages 13 to 17, at risk of entering the juvenile justice system. The goal is to increase the youth's protective factors and decrease their risk factors. The Get On Track curriculum is flexible enough to meet the needs of the different participants while still covering all the identified topics.
Youth must be referred through schools, the juvenile justice
system, families, and other care providers to enter the program.
Each youth must complete a needs assessment. To arrange a
needs assessment appointment contact Helen Bittner at 360-886-9844.
The groups meet at the Black Diamond Community Center on Thursdays
after school.
