by Bea Peterson
The Hoosick Area Youth Center and Community Coalition (HAYC3) recently received a Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) grant for $625,000. HAYC3 will be allocated $125,000 per year from October 1, 2010, to September 30, 2015. The Hoosick Area Partnership for Parents & Youth (HAPPY) received a similar grant from 2005 through 2009. Last year the grant was not renewed. This year, through the merger of the Youth Center and HAPPY, which was completed in January 2010, HAYC3 reapplied for the grant. “This year the funding was more competitive,” said HAYC3 Director of Sustainability and Strategic Planning Beth Dillard. “We were the only rural organization in the state to receive funding.” Only nine organizations statewide received similar grants. Key to the successful funding has been the Communities That Care Youth Survey taken by students at Hoosick Falls Central School and St. Mary’s Academy every two years. The surveys indicate that alcohol use by young people has declined 10 percent in the period from 2002 to 2008 and marijuana use has declined 8.4 percent. “When we first got the grant, Rensselaer County was one of the highest in the state for use and age of onset (of alcohol and drug use), and now five years later, we are second lowest,” she added.
Dillard and HAYC3 Executive Director Alish Nealon are excited about the the programs the grant will allow them to continue or establish. A new alcohol and drug prevention program will begin very soon in the schools. They will also be working on anti-bullying programs, addressing concerns with bullying and texting. While some of the programs will target middle and high school students, others will be geared to younger students, from Kindergarten to sixth grade. Dillard said they want to stop drug and alcohol use before it starts. She added that past grant were more about reducing drug and alcohol use, while this one will be about preventing use. “We want our young people to have a safe environment in our community. We want teens to know they can get together and have a good time as a group without drugs and alcohol. We need to provide the kids with the skills to entertain themselves and to make positive choices.” This includes working with their parents.
Continuing Programs
In 2008 HAPPY received a three year grant for a mentoring program at the Youth Center called MentorWorks. It paired kids with adults who were committed to work with them for three years.
This latest grant will allow that program to continue. It will also support the Youth Impact group and enable HAYC3 to form a Junior Youth Impact group for fourth, fifth and sixth grade students. The grant will sustain Leadership and Community Services youth groups. Six of the Community Services group, by the way, will be traveling to New Orleans between Christmas and New Years to work on a Habitat for Humanity house.
Not A Free Ride
In recent years the Hoosick Youth and Community Center has been transformed. It is amazing what Nealon and Dillard have been able to do. In the past the 150 year old structure was used primarily for a youth basketball league, with some space for ping pong and other games and it was open from November to April. Now the Center has an annual budget of $250,000 and is open year around. It offers an after school program for youngsters from Kindergarten through third grade that is full to capacity. Besides the mentoring program and basketball, which will be starting shortly, the Center periodically hosts or has hosted babysitting and parenting classes, baton twirling, Zumba, pottery, movies, summer camp and more. HAYC3 is also the creator of Pumpkinpalooza. It has taken over the Town Wide tag sale and sponsored the first annual Suicide Prevention Walk. A new program soon to be underway is “Mommy and Me,” for mom and their little tots.
Nealon estimates 300 to 500 youngsters participate in the varied programs at the Center every week. Over 200 kids are involved in the basketball program alone.
Membership Fee
The cost for an annual individual membership to the Center is $75. For a family the cost if $125.”No one is ever turned away,” said Dillard. “Scholarship are available.”
It Takes A Village
During the year without federal funding, HAYC3 managed to grow by leaps and bounds and expand its programs. Though the latest grant funds several projects, HAYC3 must match those funds with in-kind and other local services 100 percent. By the end of the grants, which will have covered ten years, in-kind must be 150 percent and the organization cannot reapply for a similar grant. Basically, in five years HAYC3 needs to be self supporting. Dillard is quick to point out that the grant money is not just for the Youth Center. “The school will receive funds for the new programs we are initiating. The police department will get some of the money to provide a larger presence in the Center and in the community.” She hopes some of the officers will participate in the basketball program, for example. “It’s money for the community,” she emphasized.
Raise The Roof
Both Dillard and Nealon are quick to point out that grants are fine for projects, but a big portion of the budget goes for maintaining the Youth Center building itself. “It’s a unique facility and it’s old,” said Dillard. “The heating system is on its last legs. The building needs to be insulated and the roof needs to be replaced. They anticipate soon starting a “Raise the Roof” campaign to collect $150,000 in funds and in-kind services.
HAYC3 represents twelve key sectors of the Hoosick community: youth, parents, schools, churches, businesses, community service organizations, youth-led organizations, youth-serving organizations, government, media, law enforcement and health care professionals. It will take all of them to meet and maintain the goals of the organization.
