Youth Engagement

The youth engagement strategy is designed to work with youth in developing their leadership skills, cultivate their civic engagement and to work with the youth providers in the neighborhood to encourage them to think about and acting upon serving the youth of Martindale Brightwood and Southeast in ways that will develop them into effective and productive citizens.

Strategies Include:

1. Summer Youth Fund Grant Selection & Program Evaluation- engaged youth exhibit their decision-making powers in selecting neighborhood summer programs submitted to the Summer Youth Fund Program.  Youth identify needs and concerns that are of interest to them and their peers and match those needs against the submitted proposals.  At the completion of the summer programming, youth provide on-site observation & evaluation with program staff and participants.

2. Youth Provider Roundtables-a social network table of youth providers that dialogue quarterly on common goals and issues that they encounter.  Making Connections Indianapolis convenes the roundtables to intentionally foster collaborative programming and leveraging of resources.

3. MCCOY’s Youth Mapping – Youth Mapping is a catalyst to mobilize youth and adults as they identify resources and opportunities that exist in their community.    Youth will conduct resource and advocate with a focus on quality of life for youth.  Youth will create a community-focused plan to strengthen youth engagement and to improve services to youth in their neighborhoods based on their own research.  Through the youth mapping activities, youth will create a comprehensive list of available resources, which they will be able to distribute to families and peers.

4. Leadership Development Training- The Resident Leadership and Facilitation (RLF) Training for youth is designed to help participants gain an understanding of the skills needed to lead successful meetings that result in decisions about actions that will achieve desired results.