Roxbury Youthworks (GIFT Program)

History

2011 As a result of the work of the Suffolk County DA's Support to End Exploitation NOW (SEEN) Coalition, of which RYI is a founding member, on November 22, 2011, Governor Patrick signed Massachusetts' new human trafficking legislation which defines child sexual exploitation as trafficking of a person under 18 for sexual servitude, punishable by five years to life imprisonment. The legislation also establishes a civil remedy for victims to sue perpetrators — for rape, torture, and terror. This is a major victory for the children of the State of Massachusetts and the participants of our GIFT Program.

2011 Thirty years of assisting system-involved community youth get on a positive track to adulthood.

2006-2007 Celebrating twenty-five year anniversary of assisting system-involved community youth.

2005 Awarded the Dimock Street Lead Area Agency contract from the Department of Children and Families. Created a unique service and administrative management model in partnership with Communities for People, Inc.(CFP) which could become a national model for capacity building.

2005 Renewed $1.2 million dollar contract with the Department of Youth Services (DYS) for all of Boston’s Community Re-Entry Centers (CRCs).

2005 Opened the Still We Rise Building, an all-female youth programming center home to the Female Focus Initiative and A Way Back programs.

2005 Participated in Community Gems – Boston’s first and only collaborative fundraising event - with five other agencies and raised $250,000.

2004 Awarded strategic planning support from the Harvard Business School Alumni program: Community Action Partners (CAP).

2003 RYI, in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Stop Handgun Violence and a coalition of federal, state and community law enforcement partners embarked upon a gun violence reduction campaign to reduce the level of urban firearm violence throughout Massachusetts.

2003 RYI, in partnership with the MA DSS, created the A Way Back program to target chronic run-away youth known to be, or at-risk of being sexually exploited for profit.

2001 RYI created a Child Exploitation Working Group to examine Boston trends and issues regarding child sexual exploitation and trafficking.

2001 RYI, in partnership with Attorney Generals’ Grove Hall Safe Neighborhood Initiative and the MA EOPS, created The Grove Hall Re-Entry Initiative to serve high-risk adolescent offenders returning to the Grove Hall neighborhood of Boston.

2000 RYI created the Youth Citizens Council (YCC) to serve as a youth-led leadership and advisory team.

2000 RYI, in partnership with The Boston Coalition Against Drugs and Violence and the DYS, created the Female Focus Initiative, Boston’s only re-entry initiative serving adolescent females in the community.

2000 With DSS support, RYI created The Edge Intensive Adolescent Program, providing outreach and support to adolescent DSS clients and their families.

2000 RYI, in partnership with MA Executive Office of Public Safety (EOPS), created The Diversion Program, serving youth ages of 12-16 with positive alternative activities.

1999 RYI, in partnership with DYS, created the Angell Street Transitional School to provide alternative educational services to both DYS and community youth.

1998 RYI, in partnership with the MA Department of Children and Families (DSS), implemented P.A.S. to better serve bi-cultural and bi-lingual adolescent clients and their families.

1998 RYI won the MA Department of Youth Services (DYS) Day Reporting Center contract to implement all Metro Boston Area Community Network Centers (CNC) including the Roxbury, Dorchester, West Roxbury and South Boston Centers.

1997 RYI partnered with Federated Dorchester and ESAC to create a GED Plus Program.

1997 RYI assumed administrative and operational responsibility for Project Turnaround, an after school program that supervised system involved youth.

1996 RYI piloted the Positive Alternative Curriculum that facilitated the development of RYI’s Adolescent Substance Abuse Program and its’ Psycho-educational group programming.

1994 RYI developed the Ready, Train Hire job training /Work Crew project.

1984 RYI developed Diversion Programming; including supervision of court involved youth, tracking and monitoring of community youth, recreational activities, and job training and placement services.

1984 RYI, in partnership with the MA Department of Mental Health and the Roxbury and Dorchester District Courts assumed administrative responsibility over the Roxbury Juvenile Court Clinic to provide clinical assessments to court involved adolescents.

1981 Roxbury Youthworks, Inc. (RYI) was incorporated as a 501©3 by Judge Julian Houston to offer community based alternatives to youth served through Roxbury District Court.

- See more at: http://www.roxburyyouthworks.org/pages/milestones.html#sthash.HhNkTbEO.dpuf

Mission

Roxbury Youthworks, Inc. (RYI) is a community-based non-profit organization. Our mission is to help youth caught in cycles of poverty, victimization, and violence to transition successfully to adulthood. - See more at: http://www.roxburyyouthworks.org/pages/about.html#sthash.ZSevj7ZK.dpuf