17 Aug 2016

Volunteering & Giving:

Enabling Disadvantaged Youths to Succeed: Latin America Youth Center

unnamedby Quentin Wodon

More than 17,000 young adults ages 18-24 in the Washington Metropolitan Area are considered as disconnected from work and school. Quite a few of them live in or near Capitol Hill. These youth are often from low-income families. They are not in school and out of work. They typically face multiple challenges, including homelessness, issues with the courts, or substance abuse. These challenges prevent them from successfully transitioning into adulthood. There is hope, however, in that programs reaching out to these youths have been proven to work.

The number of nonprofits in the District that have implemented rigorous impact evaluations of their programs for disadvantaged youths is small. Latin America Youth Center (LAYC) is one of them. The organization uses an innovative approach to address the needs of youth at especially high risk. Its Promotor Pathway is a long-term, intensive, holistic case management and mentorship intervention. Data from a five year randomized controlled trial impact evaluation suggest that the program has led to positive changes in terms of increasing school enrollment, reducing birth rates, and reducing homelessness among youth participating in the program. The evaluation report is available on the website of the Urban Institute.

The Promotor Pathway program is a flagship initiative for LAYC, but the organization also runs other programs, including in the areas of education, workforce readiness, housing, community building, mental health services, arts, and healthy recreation. LAYC was founded in 1968. Today, it serves 4,000 individuals per year. As a result there are plenty of ways for you to get involved if you would like to help. In order to volunteer, simply go to their website, and check for opportunities under the “Get Involved” section of the site. By volunteering, you can really make a difference in the life of the less fortunate with a top notch local nonprofit.

One last thing: Shayna Scholnick, the Director of the Promotor Pathway program for the District, will be guest speaker at our bi-weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Capitol Hill on Tuesday August 23. As part of our Capitol Hill Pro Bono Initiative, my Rotary club is partnering with LAYC to help Shayna conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the Promotor Pathway program. If you would like to know more about the program or LAYC more generally, please feel free to join our Rotary club meeting that day. All are welcome to join.

Quentin Wodon is President of the Rotary Club of Capitol Hill which meets every second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 7:30 AM at the Dubliner on F Street. To contact him, or to learn more about the Capitol Hill Pro Bono Initiative, please send him an email through the Contact Me page of his blog at www.rotarianeconomist.com.


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