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 Mt. Vernon, NY - At a press conference last Monday, Mayor Clinton I. Young, Jr., Youth Bureau Executive Director DaMia Harris, and several dozen youth within the community introduced a number of programs that are now offered through the Mount Vernon Youth Bureau during after-school hours and weekends.
At the press conference, the young people who directly benefit from these programs were given the opportunity to publicly acknowledge Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow and County Legislator Lyndon Williams and community leaders who have who have partnered with the city to ensure that these programs are and remain accessible to them.
“These programs are a part of the answer that our city has to curb youth violence,” said Mayor Young. “Our Youth Bureau has worked extremely hard to continue to expand the amount of programs available to our young people. We are investing and will continue to invest in our children here in Mount Vernon.”
The programs highlighted during this event will include but are not limited to the after-school employment initiatives as well as two pilot programs which the Mount Vernon Youth Bureau developed this fall-Law Academy and GEM (Girls Embracing Maturity) program. The GEM Program was designed to service females in A.B. Davis Middle School during in-school and after-school hours and weekends. The GEM Program is the female version of the Bureau’s highly effective “all male” Step Up Program which targets African American males who are at risk of juvenile delinquency and aggressive behaviors.
“The Mount Vernon Youth Bureau has a plethora of services that are primarily grant funded. If it were not for the combined creativity of the Bureau and the generosity of Government leaders, our youth would not be exposed to comprehensive youth development programs,” said DaMia Harris, Executive Director of the Mount Vernon Youth Bureau.
Legislator Lyndon Williams provided funding for both the Step Up Program as well as the Safe Haven Program which provides a host of free activities for our community’s young people.
“I’m thrilled to have worked with my colleagues, here on the Board, to secure this allocation for my community,” said Legislator Williams. “The Mount Vernon Youth Bureau works very hard to provide essential youth services on a shoestring budget. When I was informed that contracts for several key programs had expired and were placed in serious jeopardy, our community had to come together quickly to take necessary action.”
State Assemblyman James Gary Pretlow has been a consistent supporter of the city’s Youth Employment Program held both in the Summer and throughout the school year.
“I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to gain work experience growing up,” said Assemblyman Pretlow. “I have been a proud advocate and funding source for youth employment initiatives for as long as I’ve been in the Assembly. This is a great day for me because it shows me that these opportunities mean so much to you, the young people of our community.”
For more information regarding after-school programs, please contact the Mount Vernon Youth Bureau at (914) 665-2344.
For more news about the City of Mount Vernon please visit www.CMVNY.com.
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