Tag: at-risk youth

Thanks to This Program, Inner-City Children Are Dancing

Posted on by robbie

While most kids bust a move with games like Just Dance on their Wii Fit, Chanda Ford-White is giving children another option for getting physical.

Ford-White runs the Cleveland Inner City Ballet, a classical dance program that serves underprivileged and economically disadvantaged youth. Classes, which are held at the Collinwood Recreation Center and the First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland in Shaker Heights, expose children to the music of Tchaikovsky, as well as the French language (think: plié, rond de jambe, arabesque).

Initially, the dance classes were part of a city-funded program called the Hough Dance School with Ford-White teaching them. She later resigned her position and opened the Inner City Ballet in order to better serve underprivileged students whose families can’t afford pricey ballet instruction. The program holds classes in a couple of locations so they can maximize the number of children exposed to the world of classical ballet.

Although dancing may appear to simply be an amusing extracurricular activity, consistent practice of the rigorous discipline can have a drastic impact on students: A 2000 study from The University of Connecticut found that ballet significantly impacted at-risk children.  The creativity and discipline of dance spilled over into other areas of the students’ lives and contributed to the development of “psychologically healthy” adults.

Students of the Cleveland Inner City Ballet are expected to attend class on time, wearing proper attire. Their accomplishments are put on display during recitals, such as their holiday performance of “The Nutcracker”, which also acted as a fundraiser.  Financial support comes from the contributions of students, private donors, Ford-White’s personal funding, and performance ticket sales. The company was most recently featured in February on WVIS PBS’s local network show Applause as part of Black History Month.

One of its star students, 11-year-old Demetrius Lee told Cleveland.com that he believes ballet “would build my strength and knowledge of different cultures”, but adds that it has merits on its own. “I just like to dance, and it’s fun.”

Abused Dogs Are Getting a Second Chance at a Happy Life with Help From At-Risk Youth

Posted on by robbie

For dogs rescued from abusive homes, the nightmare isn’t over with the arrest of a neglectful human. Many of these animals end up at animal control, where they can become aggressive and distant from humans. They’re often kept alone in cages, lost in a system that doesn’t have the means to assess, treat and train them in order to safely place them in good homes. Sadly, victims of animal abuse and neglect often end up being euthanized. Cynthia Bathurst, founder and executive director Safe Humane Chicago, has made it her life’s work to end this cycle. And to do so, she has connected at-risk dogs with another group that can feel discarded by society: juveniles in the criminal justice system.
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Through the organization’s Lifetime Bonds program, volunteers take abused dogs that have been rehabilitated to the Illinois Youth Center, where they spend three months in training with a group of at-risk young men. These participants learn how to care for the animals, teaching them simple skills such as sit, down, and roll over, as well as more complicated skills, such as running agility courses. The young men also learn about animal welfare and safety through classroom-like discussions that focus on issues like overpopulation and dog fighting — an issue that is prevalent in gangs across the country.  The goal of the Lifetime Bonds program is not only to teach these dogs how to trust humans again, but also to teach the human participants patience, confidence and skills that they can use upon their release. “We focus on the special bond between people and animals that helps build empathy and opportunity,” Bathurst told The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
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Lifetime Bonds is just one of the many programs that Safe Humane Chicago offers to help build safer communities through the proper treatment of animals. Research has proven that violence against animals is connected to violence against people. According to a report by The Humane Society of the United States, 65 percent of individuals in Chicago arrested for animal crimes between 2001 and 2004 had also been arrested for battery against another person. In another study, 46 percent of 36 convicted murderers admitted to committing acts of animal abuse during adolescence. With that in mind, Bathurst focuses her nonprofit on educating people about animal abuse, while also helping them realize the depth of interpersonal connections that can grow between animals and humans. Volunteers train law enforcement officers on the enforcement of animal-related laws, as well as the humane treatment of animals caught in the judicial system. They also have a Youth Leaders program offered in some Chicago Public Schools, which trains students to become ambassadors for the humane treatment of animals. The organization acts as court advocates for animals that have been abused, and has developed a program that provides behavioral support to these animals that end up at animal control. Their methods have been so successful that the organization is working with other states to develop similar programs, hopefully allowing more abused dogs — and at-risk youths — to enjoy a second chance.
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