Milwaukee Violence Free Zone (MVFZ) targets youth who are considered to be “chronic disruptors” in their high schools. The program was piloted at South Division High School, and was so successful that the Milwaukee Public School system expanded it to Bay View, Madison and Bradley Tech High Schools. MVFZ staff cooperate with school social workers, faculty and safety aides to prevent the escalation of the youths’ behavior into more high-risk/illegal activities and, therefore, assist in changing the very climate of the school thus increasing the likelihood that youth will graduate from high school, get jobs, and eventually sustain their own healthy families. Program results include an astounding 32% drop in the number of violent incidents, a 20% decline in the number of reported non-violent incidents as well as a remarkable drop of 37% in suspension rates.
Young Professionals Academy (YPA) students referred by MVFZ Youth Advisors are required to attend a mandatory orientation session where program expectations and objectives are outlined and clarified. Students are guided through three phases of comprehensive training: (1) Employability Skills to enhance job readiness and position youth to successfully enter the workforce. (2) Job Retention Skills to equip students with effective strategies to maintain employment and open up opportunities for advancement. (3) Life Skills to provide students with the core elements and competencies of healthy human development so they adopt the kind of responsible attitudes and behaviors which will allow them to effectively deal with the challenges of everyday life. Also, students will set goals to accommodate further growth and future success.
Community Learning Centers (CLC) at Kagel Elementary School and South Division High School offers homework help and safe after-school activities, to approximately 550 students, including arts and crafts, cultural activities, computer time, nutrition and health, recreation, and field trips.
Creating Lasting Family Connections , a curriculum approved by several federal agencies and adapted by LCC staff for use with Latino youth. The course is presented during the school day at James Madison Academic Campus and focuses on improving communication with parents and increasing the use of community resources to solve problems.
¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! (“I’m Unique! I’m a Latin Girl!”), designed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration as a bilingual initiative to help Latina girls ages 9?14 to gain the self-esteem needed to make healthy choices, learn refusal skills, and resist negative social pressures. This curriculum is utilized at the center not only during the summer months but also year round.
Life Skills Training , a nationally tested curriculum adapted to the needs of Latino boys and girls aged 11 to 16. This curriculum, utilized during the summer months at the center, is a substance abuse and violence prevention program for upper elementary and middle or junior high school students covering drug resistance skills, self-image, social skills while enhancing cognitive and behavioral competency to reduce and prevent a variety of health risk behaviors.
Teen Nights offered at the Center twice a week for teens only, featuring poetry, music, dancing and art to impart positive lessons about self-esteem, staying in school, and more.
Summer Programming gives youth and teens in the target neighborhood a safe place to go during the summer months, with a wide array of fun, safe, academic, recreational, social, and cultural activities including but not limited to summer school, homework help, fieldtrips such as swimming, bowling, miniature golf, movies, museum, zoo, basketball and football
