 
Positive Youth Development State and Local Collaboration
Demonstration Projects
Fiscal Year 2005 Highlights: Oregon
Local community: City of Eugene
Located in Lane County in the fertile Willamette Valley between the rugged Oregon Coast Range and the Cascade Mountains, Eugene is Oregon’s second largest city, with a population of over 143,910 and a metropolitan area of over 200,000 people. In recent years, Lane County has seen an increase in the Latino, Asian, and Pacific Islander populations, and the recent wave of immigration into Eugene has caused some tensions between police and Latino and African American youth. While economic indicators are positive in some areas of the city, a rising poverty level indicates a growing gap between the “haves” and the “haves not.” The rate of children living in foster care has also increased steadily since 1990, and the number of homeless children in State-supported shelters increased significantly between 1992 and 1999.
The Oregon collaboration aims to increase Positive Youth Development opportunities in Eugene through a collaborative and systemic approach. Partners are working to increase opportunities young people have for using their time positively, expressing themselves, and participating actively in their local community. Oregon’s strategies for meeting these objectives include supporting community and youth mobilization, providing specific supports and opportunities for young people, and facilitating leadership skill development for both youth and adults.
Partners:
Oregon Commission on Children
and Families
Lane
County Department of Children and Families
Lane
County Workforce Development
Looking
Glass Youth and Family Services – Station 7 (Runaway and
Homeless Youth grantee)
Juventud
Faceta, AMIGOS Multicultural Services Center
In Fiscal Year 2005, the Oregon project
- Held the Eugene Decision Makers Forum, where the Mayor of Eugene
and representatives from the Board of County Commissioners, the
School Board, the County Sheriff’s Office, the United Way,
the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Department of Human
Services, and the Department of Workforce Development met with youth
to discuss issues and come up with specific solutions
- Began work on “Know the Law,” a brochure developed
for youth by youth, with the help of the County Sherriff, to help
young people understand their rights and protections under the law
- Hired two youth coordinators to engage young people in planning
and implementing project activities with special outreach to Latino,
African American, and homeless youth
- Hosted, at the Lane County Department of Children and Families, a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fellow who worked with the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics program
Challenges to the collaboration project’s work include
- Coordinating programs and systems that work for young people
- Making sure that adults let young people take the initiative and
make decisions for the project
- Giving community participation and supports the time they need
to take root and creating a project structure flexible enough to
meet the needs of young people and neighborhood citizens
- Preventing burnout among project collaborators