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The Ambassadors for Youth Academy is Back!
Having trouble with a child you are working with or a child of your own? Do their actions have you wondering just what planet they hale from? Maybe you’ve lost the fire you once held for working with youth? Or your passion for working with youth was perhaps stomped out by various disappointments? Fear not, for we have just the solution to your dilemma, The Ambassadors for Youth Academy (AFYA)! According to one of our alums, “The AFYA academy will help you realize that your work with youth has not been in vain; that the youth and their families need you!”
Here at St. Paul Youth Services we work with many families, as well as the community, to re-direct youth who are starting to get in trouble at home, at school, or with the law. One initiative we have taken to further this goal is the Ambassadors for Youth Academy. We have held two successful academies in the North End and Payne/Phalen neighborhoods and graduated 56 participants.
The Academy empowers neighbors to effectively engage with youth in a positive and helpful manner. It also enables adults to become advocates for youth in their neighborhood, thereby reducing the number of calls the police receive concerning youth behavior and allowing police officers to focus on the more pressing public safety concerns. In addition, participants gain the knowledge and confidence to engage with youth in their communities and the opportunity to network with like-minded folks who are connected with the well being of youth.
The Ambassadors for Youth Academy is an 8 week program that is held on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30. At the end of the program we ask participants to develop an action plan based on what they learned from class. After successfully completing the program each participant receives a $200 stipend and a certificate for their participation.
Here are some examples of the action plans from our past AFYA participants:
One of our past participants wrote, “My plan is to form an after school program for girls ages 7-15 in the Oxford/Lafond and University/Rice area where we will provide after school snacks, homework help, incentives for good grades and a place to share ideas and concerns.”
Another participant founded a group called “Recycle America” which influences youth to take care of the environment. The group walks around the neighborhood on Saturdays and cleans up the litter in the neighborhood as well as collects recyclable items to turn into recycling centers to help fund their programming activities such as pizza parties and field trips.
The Ambassadors for Youth Academy is a great program and we enjoy learning from the participants. We are honored to have worked with some wonderful community members through our academy that are truly making a difference in the lives of kids on a daily basis. Below you will find some of the testimonies of our AFYA alums.
“The Ambassadors for Youth Academy (AFYA) was the training that I needed to catapult me into the next dimension of my career and self-employment. I was very blessed to be a part of the academy and I feel more confident in working with families and youth from the information that I acquired. Thank you St. Paul Youth Services!”- Shatona Groves, graduate of the Payne/Phalen Ambassadors for Youth Academy
“The academy gave me hope and confidence that I could use my experiences to help youth living in poverty. I give credit to the Ambassadors for Youth Academy for showing me the value in my life experiences and assuring me that my struggle was not in vain. I recommend the academy to anyone who wants to understand today’s youth and work with them to find the value they have to offer our society.” - Donald Ingram, graduate of the North End Ambassadors for Youth Academy
“The Academy allows you to share your experiences and hear the experiences of others in their work with youth, and perhaps most importantly, “You get to meet people like yourself who care about the future of their community and the youth of today.”- Emmanuel Woode, graduate of the Payne/Phalen Ambassadors for Youth Academy
The next Ambassadors for Youth Academy will be held on Tuesday evenings, beginning March 22nd to May 10th in the Frogtown/Summit U neighborhood at the Martin Luther Recreation Center located at 271 N Kent St St Paul, MN 55102. For more information or to register for the Academy contact Leila Paye, Community Connections Manager, at 651-771-1301 or email her at lpaye@spys.org
