Proposed Participant Population. Describe the intended service population that will be impacted by this program (e.g., location, ages, race/ethnicities, income ranges, English language proficiency, if applicable etc.) AND how this population was involved in the development of this program proposal. The population we intend to serve is predominately Black older adults located in the City of Madison. Everyone will be welcomed, and our target population will be Black elder adults living in areas with concentrated poverty, including South Madison and North Madison. The target group will be 55 and up at or below 80% of AMI. Older adults were involved in designing our workgroup when we initially developed Supporting Healthy Black Families workgroups. Our workgroup was cultivated and informed by the data presented by the Black Women Wellness Foundation, the Race to Equity Report and community engagement sessions, and direct observation through community work and organizing. Themes from the data is that the stress of navigating systems, not feeling connected to a community, knowing where to go for support, and feeling seen and heard needed to be addressed in community programming. From that information, our workgroup was birthed to provide a holistic approach to the overall well-being of people known as Black.
Proposed Participant Population. Describe the intended service population that will be impacted by this program (e.g., location, ages, race/ethnicities, income ranges, English language proficiency, if applicable etc.) AND how this population was involved in the development of this program proposal. We aim to serve up to 30 youth the community deems ready for our program. We plan on working with local schools to advertise our program and case manage with local leaders to find the youth that will most benefit. Ideally, we focus on those that can benefit the most from a program that helps their socioeonomics status. We have taught in other languages before and can always customize our program to fit the community's needs.
Proposed Participant Population. Describe the intended service population that will be impacted by this program (e.g., location, ages, race/ethnicities, income ranges, English language proficiency, if applicable etc.) AND how this population was involved in the development of this program proposal. This program will recruit juniors and seniors at La Follette High and Capital High. We expect to recruit and enroll ten students at each high school (20). These populations were selected because of the impending transition to adulthood and their likelihood of using/needing Urban Triage’s (UT) wrap-around services (e.g., housing support, therapy, and advocacy in navigating systems). We anticipate that most students will identify as minoritized and be from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Our program is based partly on UT’s development and operation of programs serving similar populations. In preparing this proposal, we sought input from partners at both schools. In our discussions, we found that unlike students at comprehensive high schools in Madison, Capitol High students have never been offered any after-school programming. Students at Capitol High have told our partners that they don’t know where to go after school. If they go back to their comprehensive high school, they often find themselves in conflict. Capital High Principal Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx has told us that our program would fill a gap and create belonging. Additionally, students at Capitol High can earn up to five credits toward graduation by participating in experiential learning programs. Our program is designed to meet the requirements of MMSD’s experiential learning program to help those students progress toward graduation, allowing them to obtain employment skills, social-emotional competency, and other critical life skills (e.g., conflict resolution) while in a safe and supportive environment. While La Follette does have after-school programming, our partners have heard from many Black and Brown students that they don’t feel connected to their existing after-school programs (e.g., the homework club) because its structure is too rigid and lacks cultural relevance. They don’t feel welcome; if they arrive late, the door is locked, and they cannot join the club. Xxxxx Xxxxx, the restorative justice coordinator at La Follette, says Xxxxx and Brown students at La Follette High want to be part of something. He says students often gather in the common areas after school ends because they don’t have anywhere to go.
Proposed Participant Population. Describe the intended service population that will be impacted by this program (e.g., location, ages, race/ethnicities, income ranges, English language proficiency, if applicable etc.) AND how this population was involved in the development of this program proposal. The HERSpace: Sisterhood Soiree program aims to serve high school-aged Black girls and women between the ages of 14-21, with a particular focus on those residing in the underserved communities of Balsam Russet, Darbo Worthington, Hammersley/Theresa Terrace, Park Edge, Park Ridge, Allied Drive, Bram/xxxx Oaks, Owl Creek, Leopold, and Brentwood/Northport in Madison, Wisconsin. These communities are predominantly populated by Black individuals who face a myriad of socio-economic challenges including multigenerational homes, housing instability, homelessness, mental health illness, high crime rates, substance abuse, food insecurities, transportation access issues, and increased health concerns. Dear Diary, Inc. has been working within these communities since our inception with intentional programmatic design that facilitates an environment of communal program development and youth voice and choice. We continuously engage community leaders, partners, and participants in preliminary discussions to understand their specific needs, aspirations, and the barriers they face. This feedback has been instrumental in shaping our program objectives, strategies, and activities to ensure that they are culturally sensitive, relevant, and responsive to the unique needs and experiences of our target population. Specifically, this program is a redesign of our original HERSpace program in response to feedback from the 200+ youth currently involved in that program. They asked for additional hands-on experiences, opportunities to take part in program planning and implementation, unstructured time together, and evolving mental health experiences. We used their input to update our HERSpace program to our new HERSpace: Sisterhood Soiree program aimed to directly meet the needs of participants and future participants. Additionally, this ongoing engagement will continue throughout the program’s implementation and evaluation to ensure that it remains grounded in the lived realities of the Black girls and women it seeks to serve.
