Local Service Spotlight: Worcester Youth Center

Homeless and at risk youth can most often be found hanging out on the streets, in parks, at convenience stores, etc. Often they do not have any place to go to fill those hours between school (if they are still attending) and sleep.

In Worcester, we are lucky enough to have the Worcester Youth Center, a facility founded in 1994 through a partnership between youth and adults. This center provides youth with educational, recreational, and social activities on weekdays.

The Worcester Youth Center Mission
The mission of the Worcester Youth Center is "to provide a place where youth can build lasting, positive changes in their lives" (Worcester Youth Center Website). The center ensures that their programs operate on a youth empowerment and development model, focusing on the following key areas:

• Leadership
• Health and Wellness
• Education
• Employability

The center offers various programs including movie nights, GED/Basic Skills, and Work Readiness. They recently extended their hours to not only cover weekdays, but also Saturday afternoons.

Location/Hours of Operation
Mondays-Fridays: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturdays: 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

326 Chandler Street
Worcester, MA 01602

Join Our Team - November 23rd!!!

That's right. Our monthly volunteer orientation is coming up. Save the date:

Tuesday, November 23rd
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Worcester Public Library
Saxe Conference Room
3 Salem Square
Worcester, MA

What is a volunteer orientation?
The volunteer orientation will provide you with an overview of the youth homelessness statistics both nationally and locally, what StandUp For Kids is, and how you can get involved.

What happens after volunteer orientation?

All volunteers are required to have background checks and then attend a 3 hour basic volunteer training. 3 hours might seem like a lot but it goes by pretty fast and provides you with a good foundation for your volunteer experience with SUFK.

For those who plan to become outreach counselors, an additional 3 hour outreach training is required. This is an interactive training which provides you with an introduction to street outreach and our core services for the youth of Worcester.

How can I volunteer?

The great thing about our program is that we have a variety of roles you can take on whether you want to work from home on marketing materials or work with our kids directly through street outreach.

As a volunteer for over 3 years now, I've had the ability to experience pretty much every element of the program. There have been times when I can only contribute from behind-the-scenes with general support. The group is pretty flexible.

Of course, for the outreach counselors, we do ask that you provide at least a six month commitment of four hours a month. It is important for our youth to see consistent faces on a regular basis. They are in need of consistency and people they can count on. Our number one goal is to provide at-risk and homeless youth with people who care and who they can trust.

Want to learn more about our program? Attend the volunteer orientation and I'll try to answer as many questions as I can about this great opportunity to join the SUFK - Worcester family.

- Kristina England
SUFK - Worcester Volunteer

November 6th: Youth Homelessness Awareness Event

November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month
StandUp For Kids - Worcester is inviting you to participate in our November awareness event:

Youth Homelessness Awareness Sit-in

Saturday, November 6th

4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

in front of Worcester City Hall

Candlelight Vigil at Dusk

Contact us at worcester@standupforkids.org with any questions.

2nd Annual Worcester Talent Showcase

Also, save the date for our 2nd Annual Worcester Talent Showcase, which will be held on Thursday, January 27th (evening). We are still working on the logistics but last year we pulled in some incredibly talented musicians, poets, and dancers.

Point in Time Survey

The Worcester Teen Housing Taskforce held their first point in time survey in August 2009 to get a sense of the homeless youth population within the Worcester community. The second annual survey was conducted this week on Octoer 20, 2010. Our outreach team participated by surveying youth on the streets during our weekly street outreach. We'll keep you posted on when these survey results will be released.

Local Service Spotlight: The Mustard Seed

If someone asked you where they could grab a hot meal, what would your answer be? Most of us have a home, a kitchen, a refrigerator full of food. But there are many homeless adults and youth who struggle to get a good meal each day.

One of the main requests we get as an organization is for food bags. Our counselors carry around backpacks full of these food bags on outreach night. What do our food bags consist of? Chef Bouyerdee, a Fruit Box, Water, Chips, and maybe a fruit bowl. One food bag may be good for a youth to have when nothing else is available but we really don't want the kids living off the contents of these food bags on a continous basis.

Thankfully, Worcester has a wide array of food pantries. Worcester also has a long running soup kitchen called the Mustard Seed.

What's a soup kitchen?
A soup kitchen, or a free meal program, allows people to come in from the cold and have a warm, cooked meal.

How does the Mustard Seed operate?
When you enter the Mustard Seed, it is one big open room with several tables and chairs. The meals come from local community organizations and churches. Volunteers from the Worcester community (college students, church members, etc.) arrive each night to set up, serve dinner, and clean up afterwards.

Where is the Mustard Seed located?
The Mustard Seed is located at 93 Piedmont Street in Worcester at the corner of Austin and Piedmont. Don't go looking for a building. This soup kitchen is quite literally a house with a sprawling lawn. During the nice weather, there are picnic tables outside where people can sit and enjoy their dinners.

When are meals served?
Supper is Monday through Saturday from 4:00 to 6:30 during the winter and 5:00 to 6:30 during the summer. There is also lunch served on Sundays at noon.

The Mustard Seed is one of many places a homeless youth can get a free meal in Worcester. If for some reason the hours at the Mustard Seed don't work out or a youth needs breakfast or lunch, we have a two page list of options.

There's no reason anyone should go hungry. To start learning what options are out there, check out the Worcester Resources website (http://www.worcesterresources.org/pages.cfm?contentID=11&pageID=3). It's good to be aware of the local food pantries and soup kitchens in your area. You just never know when or why you'll need to know about such services.

Local Chapter Update: Anna Maria College Raising Awareness

On Monday, October 4th, Kristina England (Co-Director of Adult Training) and Ally Trull (Volunteer) presented to students of the Homelessness course at Anna Maria College. The class addressed such topics as local and national statistics, reasons youth could end up on the street, and what we can do as a community to prevent youth homelessness. Thank you to Professor Evangelina Gonzalez and her students for such an engaging discussion.

Farewell to Liz Burrows
Volunteer Liz Burrows left the chapter on September 25th. She is currently applying to graduate schools and studying for the GREs. Liz volunteered with us for a year, which including four months a Co-Executive Director. Liz brought a lot to the program, including some wonderful budget tracking forms and leading the planning efforts for our backpack outreach program. Thank you Liz for your amazing contributions over the last year! We'll miss you!

Local Service Spotlight: Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester

In April 2010, one of our chapter volunteers, Kathy Senior, mentioned she was attending training to become a literacy tutor at the Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester (LVGW).

Believe it or not, we hadn't heard of this great local service until Kathy joined their tutoring team.

What is LVGW?

LVGW was founded in 1973 to provide literacy services to the Worcester community. Over 100 trained volunteers serve as literacy tutors providing basic reading and English for speakers of other languages. Tutoring hours are confidential, free, year-round services.

In addition to one-on-one sessions, the program also offers classes taught by certified ESL and reading teachers. Upcoming courses are listed right on their website (http://lvgw.easycgi.com).

Where is LVGW?
LVGW is located at an ideal location for many of our youth - the Worcester Public Library at 3 Salem Square in Worcester.

How can I find out more info about LVGW?
Glad you asked! :) Check out their site at http://lvgw.easycgi.com. You can also contact the office at litvolworc@gmail.com or (508) 754-8056.