Alternative Youth Development Programs Lawrence Youth Team (LYT) FY’16 was a successful year for the Lawrence Youth Team (LYT). In November, LFDEF, Inc. and the LYT were awarded a new Safe and Successful Youth Initiative grant from the State of Massachusetts. Youth Center During FY’16, Lawrence Youth Team members took an active role in the creation of an Alternative Youth Development Center in Lawrence. A team of 5 to 8 young men spent four days a week learning all of the skills necessary to work on a major construction and rehab project. Photography Program Inspired by the documentary Born Into Brothels and the Kids with Cameras Project, the Lawrence Youth Team partnered with the Essex Art Center to help LYT members view the City of Lawrence through their eyes. Working with Dan Williams, Professor Emeritus of Art and Photography at Ohio University, the LYT learned to properly use a digital camera and scope out locations for shots and digital editing. Most importantly, they began to look at their neighborhoods and their surroundings through a different lens. Dan will continue to work with the LYT during FY’17 to continue creating art which will eventually be exhibited in the Alternative Youth Development Center. Prison In‐Reach The LYT staff expanded their outreach efforts over the past year to include Prison In‐Reach. In‐Reach allows case managers and street workers to work with young men as they prepare to transition from incarceration into the City of Lawrence. The LYT spends several hours a week meeting with inmates at the Essex County Correctional Alternative Center “the Farm” and the Middleton House of Corrections. LYT Risk Factors I grew up in Lawrence and got arrested for the first time when I was 12 years old for trespassing and breaking and entering. Before I ended up with the Lawrence Youth Team, I was arrested 4 times, was in and out of lock-up centers and committed by the State to the Dept. of Youth Services. One day, while at court, I was introduced to Willy, a street worker for the Lawrence Youth Team and was encouraged to join the program. Initially, I was hesitant about getting involved, but because I had a couple of friends who had joined the program, I had hope. Without the Lawrence Youth Team and the SSYI program, I might be selling drugs, gang involved or in jail serving a lengthy time sentence. TODAY CHRISTIAN HAS RECEIVED HIS HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA AND BECOME A FATHER. HE HAS NOT BEEN ARRESTED FOR OVER A YEAR AND WAS ABLE TO GET OUT OF A GANG. CHRISTIAN IS CURRENTLY EMPLOYED FULL TIME AND ENROLLED IN COLLEGE. LFDEF, INC FY’2015‐2016 ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 7
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