CITY OF ELKHART
Mayor James P. Perron

Elkhart's Promise

Elkhart. s Promise has established after-school programs in five elementary schools, each serving approximately 100 youth between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. In addition to ensuring a safe setting for the young people in each school, Elkhart. s Promise provides health care, drug prevention and education activities, conflict resolution and peer mediation services, and a place for mentors to meet with students.

Elkhart. s Promise Task Force members who attended the Presidents. Summit in Philadelphia had the after-school program up and running in September, just a few months after the Summit, and shortly after the start of the 1997-98 school year. In Philadelphia, the City. s delegates agreed not to let money be an issue in their initial discussions of how to meet the needs of youth in their community. In essence, they decided not to worry about how to finance needed programs until they had determined how to implement them. They were confident that, given Elkhart. s history of coming together as a community . both public and private sectors . they would be able to secure needed funding. "Money is not an issue" became the theme.

The Elkhart delegates also decided that because of the negative connotation often conveyed by the "at risk" label so often applied to youth targeted for special programs, those to be targeted for the City. s program would be referred to as "Youth of Promise."

After-School Program Partnership

The partnership formed to provide Elkhart. s after-school program includes several agencies:

• Elkhart. s Promise contracted with the YWCA/EASE program for direct program services. The Task Force chose the YWCA program because of its experience in directing and administering child care programs.
  
• At the end of each day, and at no cost to Elkhart. s Promise, the Elkhart Community Schools provide bus transportation to return youth to their homes. The school system also provides transportation and supervision for visits by program participants to a dental hygienist. The hygienist, who provides cleaning and fluoride treatment for three young people each day, has found 100 percent plaque rates, cavities and other dental problems among those in the program.
  
• Elkhart. s Promise is working with Elkhart General Hospital to identify the funding needed to provide restorative health care, and to continue preventive care, for the young people in the program. The Hospital is providing immunizations, head lice checks and treatment, instruction in proper hand-washing techniques and personal hygiene, and fire safety and first aid classes. The Hospital also provides a "supersitters" class to teach young people about child care. When the Elkhart delegates met with the students shortly after school started last fall, they expressed their desire to acquire these skills, as many of them are responsible at times for the care of their younger siblings.
  
• Goshen College students assist in providing services to the after-school program participants.
  
• The Youth Services Bureau provides drug prevention and education activities for the 10-to-14-year-olds in the program.

The after-school program costs approximately $180,000 per school year. It is provided at no cost to the young people who are in the free and reduced-price lunch programs. Many parents who can afford to pay for the program have enrolled their children as well, and report being very pleased with the results. Elkhart. s Promise is currently working with Head Start and other agencies to identify potential sources of funding to continue the program.

America. s Promise Goals

Elkhart. s after-school program is responding to two of the five Summit resource goals: providing safe places and structured activities, and providing a healthy start. Looking ahead:

• It will address the goal of providing a caring adult by inviting high school youths to become mentors to the children in the program.
  
• Members of Envirocorps have volunteered their services for the program, and this will respond to the goal of providing young people an opportunity to give back to their community.
  
• The Youth Service Bureau has received Youth as Resources grant monies which also will be used to engage young people in volunteer activities.

• The Task Force plans to address the final goal of providing a marketable skill next year. Several ideas are being considered, and contacts are being made to secure computers, Internet access and technical assistance for the program.

Says Elkhart Mayor Jim Perron, "We are pleased that Elkhart was able to participate in the Presidential Summit last year. We are even more pleased with our community. s response to the challenge to do more for our most important asset . our community. s children . to prepare them to take their rightful places as citizens and future leaders."

Contact: Deb Stoffer, Human Relations Office, City of Elkhart, (219) 294-5471

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J. Thomas Cochran, Executive Director
1620 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone (202) 293-7330, FAX (202) 293-2352

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