It's Our Money

Name of Your Organization:

Graham Windham

Overview of the Project - Please provide a brief description of the project.

Our Scholars of Service (SOS) program began in the summer of 2020 in order to provide opportunities for our young people to earn money and gain essential job skills in the midst of dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which caused loss of jobs and decreased summer employment opportunities for our youth and their families. In addition to the opportunities for youth to earn and gain skills, they were also able to connect with their peers, mentor younger children and find ways to meet the needs of those in their community. As we continue, it allows us to stay connected to all of our young people even as they are learning remotely and to hear about the issues that matter to them and what they want to do about it. We realized that many of our youth are sending out a SOS because constantly being home has taken a mental toll on them. Consequently, one of the focus areas of the SOS program is health and wellness. 

We plan to recruit 30 youth aged 9 to 19 years as SOS Youth Leaders for Change Ambassadors to develop a service-learning project related to health and wellness. Youth will receive age-appropriate mental health trainings from our school-based Mental Health Clinician. Many of the youth participants will be recruited out of a group of young people that currently come together weekly at our Mental Health Center (observing safety guidelines). They have an open discussion and share the issues that they are dealing with. This discussion group is currently facilitated by the Outreach Coordinator within our Beacon Afterschool program. As a result of these discussions, we recently launched weekly LGBTQ+ virtual group meetings for youth ages 13 to 25. 

This project will allow youth to develop teamwork skills and establish a sense of purpose. They will participate in various mental health trainings and learn more about the issues that are important to them. Furthermore, they will raise public awareness about mental health issues using various media, distribute mental health kits to the community and overall raise awareness about mental health issues. 

Which of the following issues does your project address?

1. Issue 1 - Addressing Mental Health
2. Issue 2 - Preparation for College and/or Career
3. Issue 3 - Youth Advocacy Promotion

Issue 1 - Addressing Mental Health

Youth Engagement - Please explain how you will engage youth in the planning and implementation of the project.

Just as the LBGTQ+ group came out of what youth said they needed, this project is based on what the youth say they need and will develop further based on the needs they observe within their community. Young adults under age 25 will serve as Youth Coordinators and provide information, supervision, support and help as needed but much of the planning and implementation will be done by the youth participants. They will continue to come together and discuss issues and we will continue to listen to our youth and gain insight to the many issues that they are struggling with so that we can co-create solutions. 

Budget - Your total project budget must equal $20,000 to be placed on the ballot for a youth vote. Please provide a brief description of what the funds would be used for to successfully implement your project. You will also need to download, fill in, and attach a full budget using this template (External link).

A budget of $20,000 will cover stipends for youth coordinators and youth participants, incentives, food, project materials, equipment and supplies. Details are included in the attached budget

Timeline- Please describe the timeline for the implementation and completion of the project. All work for this project must be completed by June 30, 2021, which is the end of the city’s fiscal year and the deadline for the funds to be spent.

The project timeline is as follows:

February 2021

• Recruitment of 30 youth ages 9-19 to participate as SOS Youth Leaders for Change Ambassadors

• Parent and Youth Participant Orientation

March 2021 to April 2021

• Mental Health, Trauma, and LGBTQ+ age appropriate trainings by Mental Health Clinician/ Learning about the issues

• Design Service-Learning Project

May 2021 to June 2021

• Implementation of the project PSA, documentary, and two music videos regarding mental health issues. Distribute Mental Health kits in the community

• Celebration and Reflection

Project Activity Alignment - How does your project align with at least one of the following topics:

1. Leadership skills development: organizing & advocacy trainings
2. Stewardship of public spaces: public parks, transportation, etc.
3. Youth and student engagement
4. Civic education and advocacy
5. Community outreach involving residents that have been historically underrepresented in or underserved by city government and its processes

This project activity aligns with youth and student engagement as well as community outreach involving residents that have been historically underrepresented in or underserved by city government and its processes. Our youth are encouraged to speak up about what they want to see and we listen to them. Youth and students remain engaged throughout the process to see their idea come to fruition. In addition, they will continue to engage the community by hosting activities and distributing needed food and supplies. The fall cohort of SOS interns provided the community with healthy eating and mental habits videos, a cookbook, and a bag of food ingredients to make one of their recipes for the holidays.

What is your organization's area of focus?

1. Children and youth related
2. Advocacy and organizing
3. Arts and culture
4. Civic engagement
5. Education and literacy
6. Emergency management and disaster response
7. Employment and workforce development
8. Environment and sustainability
9. Faith-based
10. Food access
11. Health and medicine
12. Homelessness and/or affordable housing
13. Human rights
14. Human services
15. Immigrants and/or refugees
16. Justice related
17. Legal services
18. People with disabilities
19. Senior services
20. Women's issues

Graham’s focus areas include: 1. children and youth related; 7. employment and workforce development and 14. human services.

Affirmations - Type "YES" below each statement to affirm that you are eligible to appear on the ballot for this process.

I confirm that my organization will be registered in the NYC Payee Information Portal and in PassPort, NYC’s online procurement system, in order to receive funding from the City of New York.

YES

I confirm that my organization is able to front the costs of implementing this project. Organizations will be paid based on deliverables. 

YES

Completion of Deliverables: I understand all deliverables must be completed by June 30th, 2021.

YES

I understand a condition of funding includes submission of a final report upon project completion, and participating in a debrief session with the CEC.

YES