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Alternatives For Girls News
July 2014

  

Greetings!
  
Our summer camp, Rise N' Shine, is ending in just one week! The girls have been having a blast in the garden, baking, creating this year's Rise N' Shine yearbook, and much more. Be on the lookout for more updates on Rise N' Shine on our Facebook page and in our next newsletter.
  
In the meantime, read on to learn about a new program in our Shelter Department and AFG's involvement with the Runaway and Homeless Youth Regional Alliance.
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Community Dinner Focuses on Relationship Building Between Staff and Participants

 

This year, our Shelter Department began holding a new event called Community Dinner. The dinners are a new addition to Community Group, a mandatory, therapeutic group that meets every Thursday and uses adventure therapy to give participants a space for meaningful dialog on topics such as healthy relationships, communication, and conflict resolution. Community Group has created a positive space for young women to share and grow together, but there was a need for a different type of event, which would allow staff and residents to bond on a more personal level. As a result, Community Dinner was formed.

  

Community Dinner occurs the last Thursday of every other month during the time that Community Group usually occurs. The dinners began with the goal of allowing staff and residents to build rapport in a more low-key environment. Each dinner includes a theme, a dinner for residents and staff, fun activities, and a time for residents to be recognized for their accomplishments. So far, there have been three dinners: a karaoke night, an obstacle course, and the most recent dinner, a casino night. "A lot of what we do as staff is focused on jobs, school, and holding the girls accountable for things they need to do. So this is a time to build connections and trust in a more fun environment and a place where we recognize their accomplishments as well," Erika Fox, Counseling Curriculum Coordinator, explains.

 

Shelter staff members encourage residents to participate in the dinners by allowing them to take an active role in planning each dinner. "They plan the activities and theme for each dinner. So, they plan activities, they brainstorm to come up with a theme and the food that they want and then they come up with tasks for preparing for the dinner," Erika shares. The dinners are also a way for residents to build confidence in planning and executing something, communication skills, and a sense of community. "They are learning that it's okay if we don't always get along but we still need to learn how to work together as a team to accomplish our goals. These are all topics that we focus on in Community Group, as well," Erika adds.

 

Heather, a current shelter resident, has attended two of the dinners so far and has really enjoyed the experience. Click here to read more.

 

  AFG Works to Fight Youth Homelessness 

with Regional Alliance 

 

Nationally, approximately 30,000 youth under the age of 18 are homeless and on their own for more than a week every year. [1]

 

Within 48 hours of running away, a young person is likely to be solicited for prostitution or another form of sexual exploitation. [2]

 

Youth ages 13-24 are the least likely of any age group to know that they are infected with HIV. [3]

 

These are just a few of the staggering statistics about runaway and homeless youth that show the great need for programs that focus on ending the cycle of homelessness and poverty for our nation's youth.

 

Here in Detroit, Alternatives For Girls is the only organization uniquely serving girls and women through shelter, outreach and prevention services. In this way, we are working to provide a holistic approaching to ending youth homelessness. As the statistics show, the problem of youth homelessness is vast and needs a broad approach if we hope to solve it. This is why Alternatives For Girls has teamed up with three other agencies in the community with the hope of reaching more individuals and providing a wide array of resources.

 

Alternatives For Girls, Common Ground, Ruth Ellis Center and Starfish Family Services have come together to create the Runaway and Homeless Youth Regional Alliance (RHY Regional Alliance). The RHY Regional Alliance is dedicated to providing safe places where youth can access food, shelter, and short and long-term support to help them become self-sufficient and live independently.

 

The RHY Regional Alliance was created to help serve youth by focusing on building a strong infrastructure for the four partner organizations to better work together. It aims to improve data collection and sharing of information amongst the agencies and to carry out joint efforts to increase public awareness about the challenges faced by disconnected youth in Southeast Michigan. Click here to read more.


 

[1] National Alliance to End Homelessness

[2] Family and Youth Services Bureau U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

[3] Family and Youth Services Bureau U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Thank you for reading about us!
  
Sincerely,

Amanda (Amy) L. Good
CEO