Gang Prevention Mission Statement
Gang Prevention
Gang Prevention Program
Jasmine McInnis
Strayer University
Professor Lillian Ajayi
CRJ180010VA016-1122-001
March 9, 2012
Gang Prevention
Abstract
The Gang Prevention Program that I decided to write on is the A.R.I.S.E program, which was founded in 1986 in Miami Florida by Ed Benson. It’s a non-profit organization that provides assortment of time tested, evidence based life skills curricula for at risk youth. In this essay, I am going to focus on the programs history, mission statement, goals, success, and an overall summary of the program.
Gang Prevention A.R.I.S.E. is a program founded by Ed Benson, in 1986 in Miami Florida. Since his retirement in 1982, he has devoted 100 percent of his time and energy to making …show more content…
the world safe for children. Mr. Benson and his wife, Susan Benson established a non-profit foundation, the ARISE foundation, which through its Anti-Pollution Committee, alerted, educated and badgered residents and government representatives of the severe environmental problems being caused by Dade County’s garbage incinerator. The primary focus of ARISE Foundation at that time was environmental education. Edmund was committed to protecting our beautiful and delicate environment, and to ensure that today’s children and their children inherit a healthy community. ARISE was dedicated to helping at-risk youth in two ways.
First there is a curricula developed for teaching life skills to troubled youth. There is an easy-to-follow lesson plan that helps others teach the skills. Secondly, ARISE provides professional life skills training on how to use these materials in the most effective way. Those who work with the youth are trained in this two-day workshop.
ARISE’s mission statement is “To provide valuable ARISE life skills and staff training to at-risk youth and the adults who care for them. We enable youth to achieve their highest potential as law abiding citizens through ARISE group sessions conducted by well trained, caring ARISE Facilitators.” The founders of ARISE have a strong belief that life skills are not born with us, but that they must be taught. With that in mind, they are dedicated to building social and emotional fitness to troubled …show more content…
youth.
Gang Prevention
The goals of the ARISE program are approached in several different ways.
The life skills that they teach are incorporated to help with anger and conflict management, help insist on the importance of getting an education, finding and keeping a job, helping develop self-esteem and healthy living. ARISE believes it is better to get to the youth before the gangs get to them. ARISE prides itself on being able to provide a number of different materials that reach a large age range of youths. It starts at pre-k and goes all the way into young adulthood. Tone of ARISE’s goals are to be able to reach children of all ages and with these programs in place, they are able to do that. Another goal of theirs makes ARISE one of a kind. They are the only known program designed to reach at-risk youth and juvenile offenders with reading difficulties at all ages and provide a comprehensive set of necessary life-skills. The ARISE program is perfect for people looking for a structured program to implement in a gang prevention program. The lessons are also easily added to after school programs, church programs, or any other organization that would like to prevent gang
recruitment.
Other goals of the Arise program include present solutions to real issues that the youth face every day. The way this is done is to teach them the life skills specific to the issue at hand. Another goal is to let the youth openly express themselves, because it is not always possible in other settings. This helps the youth feel comfortable in participating in the program, it helps the youth feel comfortable with the instructors who are teaching them the life skills, and it shows the youth that there is still a chance at life. Many of the at risk youth are at risk because of problems that begin at home. Being able to express themselves may not be something that is always acceptable, wanted, or do-able in their home environment, so being able to do it with the
Gang Prevention instructors and a group of their peers makes them more likely to avoid needing the gangs for comfort and security.
The way ARISE ensures that their youth are getting the proper instructions is by put the instructors in a series of classes. ARISE offers a number of training opportunities to help those working with at-risk youth to gain important skills. ARISE has developed a winning formula for training staff in 14 intense hours to effectively teach ARISE curricula in enjoyable, interactive group sessions. The program is designed especially for those who have no prior “teaching” experience, but are eager and confident that they can teach the life-skills to the at-risk youth. The training helps for the utilization of the Life-Skills curriculum. It helps to mold the future instructors into a role model and mentor for the youth, who may have never experienced a positive relationship in their lives.
ARISE facilitators have taught more than 4.000.000 hours of these ARISE groups, while helping 2,000,000 youth regain insight to vital lessons society demands of successful citizens. The staffs in these programs are just as important and precious as the children. With less instructor frustration levels, turnover outcomes, and friction with the youth makes for a more positive experience for the youth and the instructor.
ARISE is more than just a gang prevention program, it is a youth help program, that happens to help with gang prevention. The ARISE program doesn’t just focus on one issue in today’s youth. ARISE has programs set in place to deal with general anger management, respect as well as self-respect, and communication skills that are all too important in today’s world.
Gang Prevention
I feel that the success of the ARISE programs rests in the many testimonials of both youth and instructors alike. Although I can’t include every testimonial here, I will include some of the information that attributes to the success of the program.
First of all, it has been in place since it was founded in 1986 by Edmund Benson. Since its foundation by Mr. Benson, not only has the ARISE program spread across the country but it has also spread across the world. There are several programs that operate under the Arise program that spread through EVERY state in the United States of America, including some in the District of Columbia. The ARISE program has expanded so much that it has also been incorporated in foreign countries around the world. The countries included are Bermuda, Bosnia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Uganda, and Vietnam.
If there was no other way to explain or summarize the success of the ARISE program, one could simply focus on all the places that have adapted the program as a whole not only domestically, but also internationally. There may be no need for specific numbers because if the program was not as effective as the founders envisioned it being, then there is not possible explanation as to how the program could have spread across the world in the way and fashion that it has. I believe that that alone can determine the success of the program itself.
Overall the ARISE program was founded with the mindset of protecting the environment and ensure that today’s children inherit a healthy community. With the non-sense that was happening with the gangs in those years, Mr. Benson wanted the focus to be on gang prevention as a staple for the program, but also wanted to focus on all kinds of at risk
Gang Prevention youth for the program. He came up with a series of training classes to teach the instructors on how to deal with and interact with the youth. The program focuses on youth that come from unstable homes that include abusive homes, single-parent or no parent homes, as well as physically and emotionally abusive homes and situations. The program is meant to teach the at-risk youth the Life-Skills that society expects of you. Teaching them these skills will give for a better chance of the child to be a productive member of society instead of a destructive one.
Gang Prevention
Reference Page
http://at-riskyouth.org/about/biography-history/
Gang Prevention Program
Jasmine McInnis
Strayer University
Professor Lillian Ajayi
CRJ180010VA016-1122-001
March 9, 2012
Gang Prevention
Abstract
The Gang Prevention Program that I decided to write on is the A.R.I.S.E program, which was founded in 1986 in Miami Florida by Ed Benson. It’s a non-profit organization that provides assortment of time tested, evidence based life skills curricula for at risk youth. In this essay, I am going to focus on the programs history, mission statement, goals, success, and an overall summary of the program.
Gang Prevention A.R.I.S.E. is a program founded by Ed Benson, in 1986 in Miami Florida. Since his retirement in 1982, he has devoted 100 percent of his time and energy to making …show more content…
the world safe for children. Mr. Benson and his wife, Susan Benson established a non-profit foundation, the ARISE foundation, which through its Anti-Pollution Committee, alerted, educated and badgered residents and government representatives of the severe environmental problems being caused by Dade County’s garbage incinerator. The primary focus of ARISE Foundation at that time was environmental education. Edmund was committed to protecting our beautiful and delicate environment, and to ensure that today’s children and their children inherit a healthy community. ARISE was dedicated to helping at-risk youth in two ways.
First there is a curricula developed for teaching life skills to troubled youth. There is an easy-to-follow lesson plan that helps others teach the skills. Secondly, ARISE provides professional life skills training on how to use these materials in the most effective way. Those who work with the youth are trained in this two-day workshop.
ARISE’s mission statement is “To provide valuable ARISE life skills and staff training to at-risk youth and the adults who care for them. We enable youth to achieve their highest potential as law abiding citizens through ARISE group sessions conducted by well trained, caring ARISE Facilitators.” The founders of ARISE have a strong belief that life skills are not born with us, but that they must be taught. With that in mind, they are dedicated to building social and emotional fitness to troubled …show more content…
youth.
Gang Prevention
The goals of the ARISE program are approached in several different ways.
The life skills that they teach are incorporated to help with anger and conflict management, help insist on the importance of getting an education, finding and keeping a job, helping develop self-esteem and healthy living. ARISE believes it is better to get to the youth before the gangs get to them. ARISE prides itself on being able to provide a number of different materials that reach a large age range of youths. It starts at pre-k and goes all the way into young adulthood. Tone of ARISE’s goals are to be able to reach children of all ages and with these programs in place, they are able to do that. Another goal of theirs makes ARISE one of a kind. They are the only known program designed to reach at-risk youth and juvenile offenders with reading difficulties at all ages and provide a comprehensive set of necessary life-skills. The ARISE program is perfect for people looking for a structured program to implement in a gang prevention program. The lessons are also easily added to after school programs, church programs, or any other organization that would like to prevent gang
recruitment.
Other goals of the Arise program include present solutions to real issues that the youth face every day. The way this is done is to teach them the life skills specific to the issue at hand. Another goal is to let the youth openly express themselves, because it is not always possible in other settings. This helps the youth feel comfortable in participating in the program, it helps the youth feel comfortable with the instructors who are teaching them the life skills, and it shows the youth that there is still a chance at life. Many of the at risk youth are at risk because of problems that begin at home. Being able to express themselves may not be something that is always acceptable, wanted, or do-able in their home environment, so being able to do it with the
Gang Prevention instructors and a group of their peers makes them more likely to avoid needing the gangs for comfort and security.
The way ARISE ensures that their youth are getting the proper instructions is by put the instructors in a series of classes. ARISE offers a number of training opportunities to help those working with at-risk youth to gain important skills. ARISE has developed a winning formula for training staff in 14 intense hours to effectively teach ARISE curricula in enjoyable, interactive group sessions. The program is designed especially for those who have no prior “teaching” experience, but are eager and confident that they can teach the life-skills to the at-risk youth. The training helps for the utilization of the Life-Skills curriculum. It helps to mold the future instructors into a role model and mentor for the youth, who may have never experienced a positive relationship in their lives.
ARISE facilitators have taught more than 4.000.000 hours of these ARISE groups, while helping 2,000,000 youth regain insight to vital lessons society demands of successful citizens. The staffs in these programs are just as important and precious as the children. With less instructor frustration levels, turnover outcomes, and friction with the youth makes for a more positive experience for the youth and the instructor.
ARISE is more than just a gang prevention program, it is a youth help program, that happens to help with gang prevention. The ARISE program doesn’t just focus on one issue in today’s youth. ARISE has programs set in place to deal with general anger management, respect as well as self-respect, and communication skills that are all too important in today’s world.
Gang Prevention
I feel that the success of the ARISE programs rests in the many testimonials of both youth and instructors alike. Although I can’t include every testimonial here, I will include some of the information that attributes to the success of the program.
First of all, it has been in place since it was founded in 1986 by Edmund Benson. Since its foundation by Mr. Benson, not only has the ARISE program spread across the country but it has also spread across the world. There are several programs that operate under the Arise program that spread through EVERY state in the United States of America, including some in the District of Columbia. The ARISE program has expanded so much that it has also been incorporated in foreign countries around the world. The countries included are Bermuda, Bosnia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Uganda, and Vietnam.
If there was no other way to explain or summarize the success of the ARISE program, one could simply focus on all the places that have adapted the program as a whole not only domestically, but also internationally. There may be no need for specific numbers because if the program was not as effective as the founders envisioned it being, then there is not possible explanation as to how the program could have spread across the world in the way and fashion that it has. I believe that that alone can determine the success of the program itself.
Overall the ARISE program was founded with the mindset of protecting the environment and ensure that today’s children inherit a healthy community. With the non-sense that was happening with the gangs in those years, Mr. Benson wanted the focus to be on gang prevention as a staple for the program, but also wanted to focus on all kinds of at risk
Gang Prevention youth for the program. He came up with a series of training classes to teach the instructors on how to deal with and interact with the youth. The program focuses on youth that come from unstable homes that include abusive homes, single-parent or no parent homes, as well as physically and emotionally abusive homes and situations. The program is meant to teach the at-risk youth the Life-Skills that society expects of you. Teaching them these skills will give for a better chance of the child to be a productive member of society instead of a destructive one.
Gang Prevention
Reference Page
http://at-riskyouth.org/about/biography-history/