Group Lays 'Groundwork' for Borough's Youth

By Jonelle Reynolds

It was Friday afternoon when some middle school children were busy designing their own T-shirts at a Groundwork for Youth after-school program at P.S 328, in Brooklyn. They clipped letters from old newspapers to spell out the words of their future dream jobs that would later create the screen for their shirts.

They were so engrossed in their activity that for a moment, they seemed to be unaware of the police officers that regularly patrolled the streets of their East New York neighborhood, commonly known for its gang activities, high poverty rates and public housing developments.

"The idea behind Groundwork was to make sure that young people of the East New York community have access to many of the resources that people in more affluent neighborhoods often take for granted," said Monte Givhan, director of communications and special projects at Groundwork. "Also, to strengthen in a very organic way the community, so that success would not be viewed as exceptional but the norm and the expected."

The Groundwork organization is a community-based, non-profit that was established in 2002, serving about 2,500 families annually. The staff targeted children and their families who live in or near the public housing developments. These children have an opportunity to get involved with activities and to gain assistance with problems that are not offered by the public schools they attend. Ultimately, the aim of the program is for the youths to take what they learned and incorporate it back into their own communities.

With crime, drug use and poverty a part of the everyday life of many residents, East New York has been less likely to attract other established not-for-profit organizations. As a result, the staff of Groundwork is faced with difficulties in fundraising particularly from individual donors.

"One of the challenges is earning the trust of the people in the community, by making them feel comfortable that you are not a fly-by organization that promises a lot but does not deliver," said Givhan. "Trust comes from being here everyday and working with them [parents] and their children, not as outsiders that are here as missionaries to save a community but as partners that are trying to be responsive to the needs that are articulated by the community."

Givhan further added that the positive response of the community can be seen from the growing number of participants each year. "The number of children on one site in 2002, for the first summer program, was about 85 students and is today over 900 students and close to 3000 families from within the community," he said.

Groundwork has different programs that focus on the high need areas of the community. Groundwork for Youth provides after-school services and a summer academy for elementary and middle school children. It also assists middle school kids to transition into high school. Groundwork for Success provides college preparation, paid employment for youths, ages 16 to 20, three days a week, while training them in leadership development and business education. The Family Resource Center provides support services that deal with crisis intervention, weekly individual counseling and regular communication with parents to track the students' progress. Single Stop provides a range of professional services which include legal services, financial services, tax preparation and immigration law issues that are particularly important to the East New York community.

In addition, there are three campus sites for the Groundwork for Youth program all of which are in Brooklyn. The Unity Campus is located at P.S 328 on Alabama Avenue, the Breukelen Campus is at P.S 260 on Williams Avenue and the Fiorentino Campus at is I.S 292 on Vermont Street. Although there are different campus locations with different persons in charge, everything else remains the same.

"We don't choose the children, the children choose us. They are accepted once there is space," said Tammie Davis, the Middle Ground Success Coach at the Unity Campus for Groundwork, Inc. "A lot of kids come because of the different incentive programs we have implemented at Groundwork like literacy programs. We also offer enrichment programs that have clubs they can choose from."

"I like Groundwork because you get to express yourself in each club [film, fashion and yearbook] that you are in," said Jesus Delacruz, 14, a student participant in Groundwork for Youth. "It is different from the things that we do in school because we have more fun than we would have in school. They have a different variety and in school we don't have that many things to do."

On May 18, three people were shot in the middle of the day only 45 feet from the Groundwork's office at 595 Sutter Ave. The killing sprees and gang activities occur right outside the Groundwork doors, but it is the commitment of the staff and volunteers that earns the trust of the community. This just reinforces how important it is for this organization to keep on working to transform the lives of those in this community by creating "powerful youth for powerful communities" as is said in the Groundwork's motto.

"If I'm scared, then imagine what it's like for that four- or six-year-old or their parent," said Givhan. "We are in this together until no one in this community has to worry about their child or parent or friend being shot on the way to work or the grocery store or for any reason. We still have a whole lot of work to do."