FY’19 was another exciting year at the SISU Center. We continued our relationship with Lawrence Public Schools contracting to provide social-emotional supports to the Lawrence High School RISE Academy. With support from some of our generous funders, we have continued to grow the programming provided to proven- risk young people at the SISU Center. SISU Barbershop Through a grant from the First Church in Wenham, Lawrence Prospera built and furnished a barbershop in the SISU Center. SISU’s Lead Outreach Worker, also a licensed barber, began providing free hair cuts and using the barbershop as an outreach strategy. SISU also hired a licensed cosmetologist and cosmetology trainer to work with the Barbershop and will begin developing a cosmetology training program. SSYI Girls In partnership with the State of Massachusetts and the Lawrence Police Department, the Lawrence Safe and Successful Youth Initiative strategy expanded to include services for proven risk and gang involved young women ages 17 to 24. EARN Program In partnership with the Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board and the Department of Labor, SISU launched the EARN (Employment, Advocacy, Re-Entry, Now) program to provide workforce development and social-emotional programming for young people transitioning from incarceration or referred by the courts or law enforcement for diversion-focused programming. Christian learned to be independent at a young age. He was very close with his brother spending nearly every day together, and together they depended on the streets to feed, educate and make money in order to survive. Despite graduating high school, he focused his energy on social activities and engaging in criminal activity. However, when his older brother was shot and paralyzed, he became depressed and withdrawn, isolating himself from his friends and spending time at home helping his family. Not long after the shooting, Christian met an outreach worker from the SISU Center. Despite initial resistance, the persistence of the outreach worker began to outweigh the calling of the streets; and in 2017, Christian joined the Lawrence Youth Team. At the SISU Center, he engaged in case management, mental health and trauma services and job training skills. He cultivated healthy hobbies like music and basketball and developed an interest in electrical work. Using the leadership skills he had learned on the streets, he developed into a positive role model and earned an internship with a local electrician. Impressed by his work ethic, they offered him a permanent position. 34% *Part 1 includes assaults, robberies and homicides LAWRENCE PROSPERA FY’2018–2019 ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 5 Of all of his recent accomplishments, Christian is most proud of is his acceptance to UMass Lowell where he will begin classes in the fall. Christian’s success story began with him visiting the SISU Center to play basketball; it evolved into a stable job, acceptance to college and the opportunity for a successful future.
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