After-School Program Targeting At-Risk Youth

Juvenile Services of Wyandotte, County will receive a $60,000 grant from the State of Kansas to launch a pilot program to help improve the lives of at-risk youth.

The program, 180 Degrees, will begin on Tuesday, January 20, 2014; the day following the birthday of the late Dr.  Martin Luther King, Jr. The grant is being awarded in partnership with the USD 500 School District and Heartland 108, which is a new non-profit organization. Heartland's goal is, "to passionately help youth improve their lives by accepting personal accountability and to continuously striving toward the goal of achieving their full potential, 'one degree' at a time."

This highly interactive and participatory after-school pilot program will utilize a comprehensive research-based curriculum provided by the national 180 Degrees Program (www.180-degrees.com).  Based in Salem, Oregon, the organization has a number of sites mostly located in the Pacific Northwest. The program has also been established and growing in a number of other locations in the Southeast and internationally.

The program will require the youth to meet for 3-hours a day 4-days out the week and will serve up to 50 Wyandotte County youth between the ages of 11 and 17; currently enrolled in a USD 500 educational program. The After School program will serve youth who are either facing sentencing for a new offense or a sanction for violating conditions of their supervision, and/or have multiple unexcused absences. 

"The strength of this program is that it has a built-in evaluation mechanism that documents performance measures related to GPAs, class attendance and referrals. This not only helps to hold the youth accountable to their goals for success, but it also reveals the value of the program to the community at large," says Pastor Jonas Hayes, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church of Overland Park.

Rev. Hayes knows first-hand about the success of faith-based community and juvenile programs like 180 Degrees. He started a similar pilot program in Greenville, Mississippi. His solid track record of improving successful life, pro-social and education skills led to the programs growth, which resulted in serving more than 200 youth annually. The program also eventually expanded to serving youth in surrounding states like Arkansas and Louisiana.

"The community I served in Mississippi identified a challenge with area youth and truancy. In the first year, we saw over a 50% increase in class attendance, which led a stronger performance in school," says Hayes. 

The Pastor's efforts were documented and honored in film titled, "Delta 180: Changing Lives in the Mississippi Delta." The film captures the success of the 180 Degrees Program In the 2011-2012 school year and powerfully tells the story of the youth who made positive strides in changing their behavior and the impact this had on the whole community.

"I can only imagine the impact that this will have on our community now that it has been brought here," says Max Mendoza, a Governor appointee to the State Advisory Board on juvenile justice and local youth advocate. "This has been an area of need in our County for a long time. We are so excited to see the community coming together and we know there are many others in the community who can help teach this curriculum and also to offer their gifts to facilitate an activity to reinforce the lesson taught that day."

All 180 Degrees Program Facilitators are required to complete 24-hours of training, provided by the national 180 Degrees Program staff.  The 180 Degrees Program training will take place daily, January 5 thru January 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The training will be held at the USD 500 Administration Building located at 2010 N. 59th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66104.

"To help our community's youth to succeed will take our very best effort. Sometimes our efforts in the community can be compartmentalized. Perhaps it's because we get busy and try and keep up with multiple commitments," says Phillip Lockman, Director of the Department of Community Corrections in the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and KCK. "The vision here is to bring together the key sectors of the community - the schools, government agencies, businesses and faith-based community to come together and help our youth live to their fullest possible potential."

For more information or to request an application to serve as a Heartland 180 Degrees Program Facilitator, please send an email to heartland180@gmail.com or call (816) 359 - 7363.

The American Association announced Wednesday that the Kansas City
T-Bones have been selected as the league's "Organization of the Year" for the 2014 season.

The T-Bones have received the honor, which is awarded by the commissioner's office, four times since moving to Kansas City prior to the 2003 season.

"It's our privilege to give Kansas City this award," said American Association commissioner Miles Wolff. "From (owner) John Ehlert down, the T-Bones have always been a first-class organization, and one of the best-run clubs in our league."

"It's a tremendous honor to receive this award," said John Ehlert. "It's a testament to the hard work that president Adam Ehlert, vice president and general manager Chris Browne, our entire front office staff and baseball staff put into each and every season. Of course, we're grateful to our wonderful sponsors and fans who make all of this possible."

The award is coming on the heels of the T-Bones finishing in the top five in average attendance among independent teams for the seventh consecutive season, and in the top 50 among more than 350 teams from the affiliated minor leagues, independent leagues and summer-collegiate leagues. In late July, the club welcomed its 3-millionth fan to CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

On the field in 2014 under manager John Massarelli, who was in his first year with Kansas City, the T-Bones finished 48-52, which was an eight-game improvement from 2013. The team finished in third place in the Central Division, 6 games behind division winner Lincoln. Along the way, reliever Kris Regas set the T-Bones single-season club record for saves with 22, and T.J. Mittelstaedt set a club record by reaching base in all 51 games at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

The T-Bones continue to be active in the community, too. In addition to its popular youth reading program, the club has provided more than $700,000 to various Wyandotte County Parks and Recreation projects through the T-Bones Uncommitted Recreation Fund (TURF), which was created in partnership with the Unified Government when the T-Bones began play in Wyandotte County in 2003.

The T-Bones were awarded the "Organization of the Year" three times while in the Northern League (2004, '07, '10). This is the first time they've received the award since joining the American Association in 2011.

For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the T-Bones media relations department at 913-328-5639.