Community Service Gateway Project

Across the nation, there is a growing concern about the current status and the declining life prospects of African-American Men – in particular, the social decline evident in their rates of: education, employment, incarceration, infirmity, mortality, paternity establishment and a host of other social indices. In Dr. Hyman’s view, the deteriorating life prospects of these men may be the most significant social challenge facing the African-American community, and the nation, since the Emancipation.

Dr. Hyman suggests that these deteriorating life prospects, while having roots in discrimination and racism, are now being fueled by something much more pernicious — a growing counter culture and a degradation in positive, pro-social values. The concerns over: guns, gangs, drugs, violence, incarceration rates, school failure, teen pregnancies, etc. all have a common denominator — deteriorating values in weakened families and communities that are no longer able to set and enforce positive cultural and behavioral norms for their youth and young adults, particularly their males.

Moreover, Dr. Hyman asserts that our national preoccupation with "service strategies" is an impediment to addressing this issue. We will never "service" high-risk young men into good behavior or into positive thinking. Indeed, the solution here requires a "hearts and minds campaign" designed to provide an alternative "world view" to some of the many negative influences that are often present in disinvested neighborhoods.

In Dr. Hyman’s view, community service programs represent a major opportunity to achieve multiple benefits in this regard — providing opportunities and resources to do important and needed work in these communities, while, at the same time, acting as vehicles for teaching the value of, and strengthening connection to and appreciation for, neighborhoods and communities as the ecologies that support families and children. Community service, in this context, becomes an instrument for doing good things while reinforcing pro-social community, family and personal values. This rationale has led Dr. Hyman to design the Community Service Gateway Project. The following is a brief description.

1. TARGET GROUP

   The project targets two groups of black men — older returning ex-offenders, and high risk youth ages 17 to 25 – because they are:

   • The principal sponsors of crime and disorder in communities;
   • Uniquely qualified to advise about community disorder and can be a powerful resource for increasing public safety; and
   • They are among the most marginalized citizens in our communities.

   Successful intervention with these men is likely to have substantial and multiple community benefits.

2. TARGETED COMMUNITIES

   This project will target low-income, minority communities that show evidence of deteriorating outcomes for youth and young adults (e.g., as measured by local data including school drop-out rates, juvenile arrest rates, mortality rates, drug enforcement data, etc.) and are highly impacted by large numbers of returning ex-offenders (e.g., as measured by probation and parole data). One such community will be Oakland, CA.

3. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

   The Community Service Gateway Project (CSGP) will be planned as a multi-year demonstration with the following components:

   • A two-generational approach – pairing older, "redeemed" returning ex-offenders with high-risk youth and young adults in community service projects;
   • 3rd person minority male volunteers to support/mentor participant pairings;
   • Community service projects that support positive youth development and the positive reintegration of ex-offenders;
   • Positive peer support groups to encourage continuing personal development and maintain project decorum, rapport, and spirit;
   • A gateway to other programs, services and experiences that will encourage members to invest in their further development (e.g., education, employment and training, etc);
   • Negotiated collaborations with AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve, and other CNCS programs that already exist in targeted communities;
   • Negotiated articulation agreements between CGSP sponsors and local GED and adult education programs, community colleges and employment training providers as potential gateway opportunities;
   • Community outreach and marketing to “celebrate” service project outcomes, and to promote and enhance an "ethic" of community engagement for public safety; and
   • Participant-sponsored projects and events to increase community awareness and civic engagement around community crime and safety issues.

The future prospects of poor African-American men, living in distressed neighborhoods, and those of their children, families and entire communities are increasingly in jeopardy. And there is an urgent need for innovative approaches to address their needs. It is Dr. Hyman’s view that community service is one such approach and that the Community Service Gateway Project offers a potentially promising intervention strategy. To learn more, please contact us.