By Emily VaughanThe Daily Northwestern
Twenty-five years ago, Evanston was worried about youth involvement in the community.
At Monday’s Human Services Committee meeting, the city’s Youth Engagement Team presented its recommendations for continuing the search for a solution.
Sheila McCorkle, SESP ’06, presented the team’s research to the committee, along with suggestions on how to facilitate the growth and development of Evanston youth.
“(In many places) youth are considered a burden to the community, not as an asset we can strengthen,” McCorkle said.
The team’s plan, the Youth Engagement Initiative, is aimed at creating marketable job skills and more opportunities for Evanston youth. Through her research, McCorkle discovered separation between the youth population and the community, partially due to a racial divide.
“(The youth) didn’t have a mechanism to come to City Council to communicate their issues,” she said.
The Youth Engagement Initiative developed a nine-step plan to help young residents, paying special attention to seeking out the harder-to-reach sections of the younger population. The program focuses on using existing community assets to provide employment training and create a Youth Summit and Youth Council to communicate with the city on youth issues and concerns.
All committee members responded positively to the proposal, voting to accept the report and recommend the $150,000 first-year proposal with the condition that it might be expanded later.
“We always walk away from (the issue) because we can’t afford it,” Ald. Steven Bernstein (4th) said. “But now we have to realize we can’t afford not to.”
The first year’s goals will include augmenting Evanston Township High School’s Work/Study program and the Evanston Police Department’s outreach program by creating a female unit.
SESP sophomores Mara Botman and Margaret Lewis work on the program through NU’s Certificate of Service Learning course.
They have assisted McCorkle with her research, focusing primarily on the Youth Council. Both said they would like to see a council composed of two youth from each aldermanic district.
“A lot of the policy (discussed) is regarding youth,” Botman said. “But if there’s not youth to say things, then what are we left with?”
Reach Emily Vaughan at [email protected].
