YouthWorks-Detroit

The Bezalel Project - a free after-school and summer program providing positive relationships, literacy support and dynamic arts programming to holistically empower Detroit youth between the ages of 8 and 13. To ensure social distancing precautions could be taken, the program was altered to run 5 days a week for a 2 hour session, with each session only serving 2 households at a time. During the summer, Bezalel becomes a day-camp, running 3 days a week for 5 hours each day. During our time with our youth, we provide academic tutoring and use arts, games, music, and drama as a means to encourage our youth to express themselves in healthy ways. This schoolyear, we are currently working with 18 kids in our neighborhood, and have in years past worked with around 25 students during the summer months.

StreetTeam Leadership Training Program - a 6-week leadership and job training program where High School students are given the tools to grow practically, socially and spiritually. We provide them with work experience, training in resume writing and job interviewing, training in financial literacy, opportunities to participate in outdoor adventure trips, activities to promote self-discovery and growth in self-confidence, leadership development, and one-on-one mentoring. Required participation is 5 days per week, full-time. This previous summer, due to Covid-19, the program moved to a virtual experience but we were able to partner with a city of Detroit initiative Grow Detroit Young Talent to ensure we provided each of the aforementioned program elements to our youth. Full-time participants: 19 youth

The Plug - a community through which High School students in Detroit are accompanied through the complexities of their lives, receiving connections to both vital community resources and the eternal hope of the Gospel. Staff members meet with High Schoolers in small-group settings, providing them with the chance to share openly about the struggles they may face, and to receive the encouragement and help they need. Once per week, all participants meet together to play games, and listen to talks and engage in relevant group discussion. A key piece of our work is assisting our youth in navigating and gaining access to the many resources that may be available to them. Examples include connecting our youth to food banks, shelters, financial health seminars/workshops, mental health professionals, primary care physicians, tutoring services, and literacy support. Approximate number of youth served: 25.

In addition to its youth programs, Detroit Community Outreach conducts regular large group prayer meetings and small group meetings for personal growth and encouragement. DCO continues a strong emphasis on serving the poor, building relationships between churches and working to strengthen relationships across racial lines. Volunteer service projects are organized to benefit individuals and churches in Detroit, and donations of food and clothing are periodically made to needy families. Approximate number of individuals served by DCO in these various ways is 200+.

Detroit Summer Outreach - a 9-week internship giving college-aged men and women from around the globe the opportunity to live and serve in Detroit for two months, receiving the formation for a radical life of mission. Interns work as crew leaders for StreetTeam and camp supervisors for The Bezalel Project. Responsibilities include planning, organizing and leading retreats, camping trips and service projects, supervising StreetTeam work crews, assisting summer school teachers in the classroom, tutoring, one-on-one mentoring, and take part in various service projects for the city's marginalized communities. Due to Covid-19, we were unable to host interns during the summer of 2020, however we intend to resume hosting interns in some form in the summer of '21. Full-time participants: 5 interns

Detroit Illuminated - a short-term immersion program giving college students from around the country the chance to witness the powerful work going on in the city of Detroit. They work on home improvement projects for low-income residents, and volunteer at soup kitchens or other outreaches serving the poor and homeless in the city. Beyond service, participants attend training sessions and take part in facilitated conversations to help them grow in awareness of various social issues, and begin the process of working towards reconciliation. These trips normally occur during college spring breaks, with group sizes varying from 3 to 15 people per school, with multiple schools often attending the same week. However, due to Covid-19 we faced significant barriers and were unable to run our program as designed. Instead, we hosted a virtual gathering of over 100 people to shine a light on the city's people and the power of the work happening here.