Empowerment program helps at-risk youth change behavior
URBAN LEAGUE EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM HELPING AT-RISK YOUTH REWRITE PROBLEM BEHAVIOR
Jamara Dews’ behavior got her kicked out of school and into the juvenile justice system by the time she was 15. The Brainerd High School sophomore thought her reputation and role as an out-ofcontrol teenager was sealed.
Then the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga selected her to be among some 100 youth participating in its Urban Youth Empowerment Program.
The program paired her with a positive role model, taught her job skills and gave her employment. Jamara says Urban Youth Empowerment changed her life.
Instead of striving to pass high school, Jamara aims for A’s and B’s this year because she wants to attend college.
“Now I care,” she says. “And I’m ready for school … so I can show people that [problem behavior] is not me any more.”
Her gratitude motivates her nonstop praise about her progress and the program. It also generates laughter and tears among her employer and the Urban League staff who know her.
She is among 700 teens and young adults nationally
who seek to benefit from the Urban League’s Urban Youth Empowerment Program before it ends in September 2018. Begun in December 2015, the program targets young men and woman, ages 14 to 24, who are in the court system. It teaches work skills
and assists them with finding a job, says local Program Director Ronni Pruitt.
The Urban League created the program to give youth a second chance, says Ronald Marlow, vice president for workforce development at the National Urban League.
“If we did not have a meaningful program to such youth, then we would be falling short of our mission,” he says.
The organization wants more young people to participate, but money limits its reach.
The Urban League has 30 affiliates. Chattanooga is among only eight other branches that successfully competed for funding.
The U.S. Department of
Labor backed Youth Empowerment with a $500,000, three-year grant. The Urban League picked up another $20,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation this year.
Youth Empowerment needs 20 more youth to reach enrollment capacity locally.
“We’re trying to get these young people out of trouble,” says Pruitt.
Napoleon Dunson, owner of Dunson Auto Repair, is among a half dozen local employers who are training youths in the program.
He not only extends a second chance to youth, but says most of his adult employees have been in the judicial system.
“When you turn 60, you look and see people have always taken chances on me,” he says.
Other employers include Captain D’s, The Lighthouse, Premium Cleaning Services, Chatter Box and Hope for the Inner City.
The Urban League seeks more employers and mentors. Mentors must commit to connecting with a young person three to five hours a week for six months.
Some youth have never had a job, so they don’t know how to conduct themselves with the public. They may not understand the responsibility of being on time and being accountable for their work. The job training portion of the Urban League’s program teaches that, says Pruitt.
Because of the Urban Youth Empowerment program, Jamara redefined herself from being a teen with behavior problems to being the receptionist at Caché Hair Efx salon on M.L. King Boulevard.
She eventually told her employer about the reputation she has in the juvenile system. She has behavior problems. She blames other people for her problems, and she has a disrespectful mouth.
Salon owner Star Bradley assured Jamara that she can prove to people through her actions that she has changed.
“You might have done things you’re not proud of,” said Bradley. “But that’s not the end of the story.”
Contact Yolanda Putman at yputman@ timesfreepress.com or 423757-6431.