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The Hetrick-Martin Institute's After-School Services Department (ASD) provides youth members with a wide range of group-based arts, educational, cultural and recreational activities. In concert with one another and with other services offered at The Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI), Home of The Harvey Milk High School (HMHS), these After-School activities help lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth develop their social and personal skills in a safe, supportive and age-appropriate environment that is inclusive of diverse backgrounds, interests and abilities. Each year, the After-School Services Department reaches hundreds of at-risk LGBTQ youth—and many of their families—from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm, Monday through Friday, during the school year and the summer.
For many young people, the hours following the traditional school day are a time to unwind and socialize. But for thousands of LGBTQ youth, these unstructured, unsupervised hours pose a maximum risk for physical assault, sexual victimization and verbal humiliation. The ASD exists to offer an alternative safe space on weekday afternoons and evenings, and provides engaging activities, counseling, education and training for youth to achieve their full potential in a healthy, positive environment—the kind of socialization and skill-building that most adolescents take for granted. With an annual service population of over 1,000, the After-School Services Department serves the largest number of at-risk youth in the entire agency. In fact, it is an entry point to the agency for many youth, who, after becoming a Member, go on to take advantage of HMI’s other program services, including the critical counseling and case management services provided by the Supportive Services Department.
All youth who participate in the After-School programs begin first with a needs and safety assessment by an HMI Staff Member —where youth identified as homeless, hungry or in an abusive situation are immediately transferred to counseling and case management services to deal with urgent needs first . Otherwise, the incoming youth attend an hour-long orientation detailing the confidentiality requirements for participation at the Agency and an overview of the programs offered. The orientation also outlines the rules that guide behavior on the premises. Since a main focus of HMI’s work is building self esteem and emotional resiliency, as well as ensuring a safe coming-out experience, HMI gives youth the choice of whether or not to disclose their participation at the Agency to biological or foster parents or their self-defined ‘family.’ After the initial orientation is complete, the youth are considered members of the Hetrick-Martin Institute and are encouraged to join the activities in the ASD.
After-School programming is a blend of healthy routine and innovation. Each afternoon begins with a snack and socialization period before programs begin. Since the overwhelming majority of participating youth are from poverty-level households and some are homeless, an evening meal is also offered each night to assure that their nutritional needs are met as fully as their emotional and social needs.
The spectrum of services and activities available during the After-School hours fall into four main categories: arts and cultural, health and wellness, academic enrichment and job readiness and career exploration.
Arts and cultural programming incorporates the visual arts, creative arts and performing arts with positive social development and aims to foster self-expression and build relationships between youth members and their peers, family and staff. Youth are encouraged to participate in everything from daily arts activities, video filming, editing and production, photography, drama group, dance and movement, voice and music classes to peer arts internships.
Health and wellness programming is more than just HMI’s meal programs. Other offerings in this category provide youth and community members with vital information regarding stress reduction, health care, proper hygiene, substance use, HIV and AIDS, STDs and other mental and physical health issues. These efforts incorporate support to new members, group activities for all, peer education and community service for individuals and communities affected by HIV, self defense classes, ongoing discussion groups, and guest speakers. HMI’s program staff, youth workers, and volunteers provide street outreach. This ensures that as many at-risk youth as possible know that HMI exists as a safe space for them.
We at Academic Enrichment believe in the inherent talent and potential of all youth, regardless of sexual orientation, race, class and gender identity. Our mission is to open doors to opportunity, careers and academic success via creative programming, resourceful community partnerships and family involvement.
We offer peace portals, tutoring, cultural celebrations, media and art classes, computer training, desktop publishing, games, creative writing, college prep, scholarships, internships sculpting, cartooning, performance art, internet access, book clubs, film clubs and so much more.
It is part of HMI’s forward-thinking philosophy to prepare its youth as much as possible for the world beyond adolescence. To this end, and building upon the educational enrichment services and college advisement provided by the Harvey Milk High School, the job readiness and career exploration programs help increase employability and long-term self-sufficiency with basic job readiness training, on-site internships, off-site externships and job placement, as well as career counseling.
In addition to this four-tiered approach to enriching and enabling LGBTQ youth, the ASD’s calendar is full of one-time offerings that help build community and personal strengths. These include such events as holiday gatherings, balls, author discussions, celebrity guest speakers, youth forums, choreography workshops, special topics in physical education, museum trips, printmaking, police interaction workshops and multiple gay pride activities.
With a superbly dedicated staff and a community of incredibly creative and energetic LGBTQ youth, the After-School Services Department is the most populous and diverse department in the agency. HMI has undertaken the enormous task of not only protecting LGBTQ youth from the panoply of dangers they face, but preparing them to be self-sufficient, self-aware, productive and—perhaps most importantly—happy adults. The ASD carries an enormous portion of this burden, and the results are both truly remarkable and immediately noticeable.
For more information on After-School Services, please contact Jenny DeBower, Director of After-School Services, at 212.674.2400, or e-mail her at jdebower@hmi.org.
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