LBNA - Camden Youth - Lind-Bohanon Neighborhood has Positive North Minneapolis Youth

CYEP Continues to Make Headlines in Camden!

For more about what CYEP is doing go to:

www.cyepmn.org

What Difference has CYEP made and What's Next for YEP?

For a full copy of the Hennepin County Evaluation Report of the Camden Youth Engagement Project Evaluation Phases 3 & 4

Summary Report click here!

Full Report click here!

In 2006 a group of adults and youth set-out to find ways to connect youth to assets — especially to opportunities already available.  Representatives from Cleveland, Lind-Bohannon, Shingle Creek, and McKinley neighborhood associations; Jenny Lind and Lucy Craft Laney Community Education; and Research, Planning and Development Department of Hennepin County joined together to form the Camden Youth Engagement Project (CYEP) planning team. The original intent was to connect youth to youth and community resources by having them survey other youth, businesses and agencies and create and distribute a youth-friendly asset map.

By July 2008, the summary below from the Hennepin County Phase 3& 4 Evaluation of the Camden Youth Engagement Project by Hennepin County's Rebecca Gilgen reflects the challenges and positive outcomes of this unique project.

What differences did the YEP make?
Overall, youth and adults agreed that the YEP made a difference in Camden by:

• Increasing positive opportunities for youth  
  • Crew members were invested in the YEP, as roughly 50 percent contributed six to eight hours per week. [1]
• Building facilitative leadership necessary for the 21st-century 
  • Crew members were capable and confident leaders, as shown by increases of 15-20 percent from phase three to phase  four in self-reporting of leadership and facilitation skills.
• Increasing public willingness to support youth 
  • A new fiscal sponsor for the YEP emerged:  Lind-Bohanon Neighborhood Association.
• Creating space for youth and adults to connect and get involved
  • Overall youth were satisfied with the crew leaders while wanting crew leaders to provide more information that could  help them complete tasks. 
  • Crew leaders were successful at building relationships, using a collaborative structure and creating a space that uses facilitation rather than top-down decision making to accomplish goals.

The youth crew provided the community with the following:

• Produced 10 movie nights, engaging on average 20 youth per night
• Organized two talent shows, engaging on average 35 per show
• Volunteered with Lyndale Blooms, Toys for Tots, and the Lucy Laney School Barbecue
• Promoted the Camden Youth Map at 13 community events and distributed over 1,500 maps
• Sustained their effort by raising $1,973 through car washes, grant writing, and selling snacks at Movie Nights and the North Housing Fair

Did youth and adults use the asset map?
Most community residents said they were aware of and would use the map.  Overwhelmingly residents said they would attend the next YEP event.  A larger sample would be needed to strengthen these findings. 
Over half of the surveyed North Minneapolis residents (57%, n=23) were aware of the Camden map of youth assets
        Residents stated they would use the map for the following:
           *29 percent said they would keep the map in their pocket to help find places
           *28 percent said they would use the map to find youth-friendly places
           *23 percent said they would post or display the map
Most surveyed residents (90%, n=36) said they would attend the next YEP event
 
What should the YEP focus on in the next phase and how can it grow?
All participants found strengths and challenges in the project, and everyone involved is committed to carrying-forward successes and facing challenges in order to strengthen the YEP.

During the next phase:

• Everyone involved agreed that the YEP must have a consistent physical space for the project. This is essential.
• The planning team should include youth to help balance priorities, improve communications, and promote strategic decision making.
• Crew leaders should continue to support participants’ development through intentional Youthwork. [2]
  The planning team should identify strategies for ensuring safe passage to and from YEP activities.

For long-term growth:

• The YEP will need financial support to sustain quality programming.
• The YEP will need to continue to build a program that allows for enough structure to build relationships, while ensuring that there is sufficient flexibility needed for engagement.
• The YEP must continue to learn from participatory evaluation 

As a result of the Evaluation, LBNA has stepped up to be the new fiscal agent for this effort by committing to:

• Develop a strategic plan for a sustainable program 
• Provide additional staff, crewleaders and crew support to help continue planning, supporting, and connecting to additional activities in the community and additional planning time needed for phase V
• Provide funds to seek out and leverage dollars for continuing YEP growth efforts

Our Goals:

1. Find a permanent home for CYEP program.
2. Work with partners to create a long-term sustainable fundraising plan for CYEP to build on the momentum of the developed project.
3. Hire a full-time crewleader and crew to continue to continuity and momentum of the project
4. Transition the project to a program to continue to catalyze and elevate Camden community youth and its partners, becoming a national model for youth engagement.

What’s next and how can you help?

1. Help us meet our goal of raising $50,000 to leverage the $25,000 dedicated by LBNA.We want to have a plan in place and have our next CYEP crewleader and crew hired for the 08-09 school season.
2. Become a member of the CYEP Advisory Committee to develop a fiscally solid plan.
3. Commit finances for the long-term success of Camden Youth and this unique CYEP program.

Want to get involved? Contact us at Lindbohanonna@aol.com

Want to donate to CYEP? Click here!