Community Partnership for Youth, CPY

 

 

“Never forget that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed it is the only thing that ever has”

Margaret Mead

 

 

15 YEARS... GOING STRONG... CHANGING LIVES

 

Community Partnership for Youth (CPY) is creating “a community one child at a time.”  CPY was created in 1991 after the tragic death of an outstanding high school athlete during an alleged drug deal. 

 

Beginning as an all day summer program, it has now expanded to include:

 

A safe place for young people to explore and discover their potential.  CPY staff endeavors to look at the “whole child.”

 

A set of Standards based on integrity and respect, to develop

values and character.

 

Afterschool tutoring and enrichment program in four locations.

 

All day Intersessions (8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.) during school breaks.

 

Middle school leadership, job and life skills training.
 

High school leadership, job experience and life skills training.

 

Enrichment programs that include a Visual and Performing 

Arts Academy, service learning projects, sports and recreation.

 

Special emphasis on learning and literacy.

 

Reading lab and/or volunteer reading program.
 

Computer lab at several sites.

 

Work experience for young people, parents and grandparents.

 

CPY provides consistent support in a safe environment

for young people to develop boundaries and learn

to build on their individual strengths.

 

 

 

Standards...you’ve got to have standards!

 

All CPY programs are influenced by and implemented according to the CPY Standards. The CPY Standards give children and adults a framework in which to interact with others and monitor their own behavior.  

 

The CPY Standards are founded upon the principles of integrity and respect;

 

Integrity, because integrity exemplifies truthfulness, modesty, and trustworthiness;

 

Respect, because respect exemplifies courtesy, honor, and reverence.

All staff and children must memorize and model the standards.

 

Standard #1

In CPY, we greet each other everyday with a smile and a handshake to strengthen the relationship between us.

Standard #2

In CPY, we honor and respect each other so we address one another with the proper language and speech.

Standard #3

In CPY, we value the space of ourselves and others and are careful not to intrude or injure each other.

Standard #4

In CPY, we are mindful of what is true and strive to be honest in word and deed.

Standard #5

In CPY, we treasure our rich heritage and hold the cultures of all people in high regard.

Standard #6

In CPY, we strive to reflect our beauty both inwardly in our understanding and outwardly in our appearance.

 

 

 

Community Partnership for Youth, CPY

Post Office Box 42

Monterey, CA 93942

 

(831) 394-4279 Phone

(831) 394-4229 Fax

 

respect@cpy.org

 

http://www.cpy.org

 

 

One child at a time

Hospital grant helps Community Partnership for Youth

 

 

It’s 4 p.m. on a Tuesday in early March. School is already out for the day. Two hours of sunlight still remain. But some 50-plus elementary school children are gathered in a circle in the Highland School cafeteria, sitting here in a giant ring of ponytails and possibility, high tops and homework. Elbows brushing elbows, knees touching knees, temptation merely a whisper or a poke away. But there is silence.

And there is commitment. These children aren’t here just to pass the time until their parents get home. They’re staying after school to learn and grow, to become productive, educated adults. It’s happening at Highland Elementary School in Seaside, and it’s happening across town at Manzanita Elementary and Ord Terrace Elementary, and one city away at Marina Del Mar Elementary. More than 300 kids — representing 18 schools — sitting in their circles of friends, their spheres of influence.

The Community Partnership for Youth (CPY) recently celebrated its 12th anniversary. Born out of the death of a promising Seaside High School athlete who was shot and killed during an alleged drug transaction in May 1991, CPY is devoted to protecting children from violence, from drugs, from fear.

If you go around the circle, the children will tell you that they gather each day for all kinds of things — to “learn stuff,” “make new friends,” “practice non-violence,” and “sing songs.” They’ll also tell you they plan to grow up to be lawyers, doctors, army chefs, singers, pilots, X-ray technicians, pastors, police officers, nurses, music conductors, and even President of the United States.

This is about dreams, too. And determination. Nearly all of these children come from low-income families. Some have single parents. Many have had a family member die. All can recite the six CPY standards, their customized set of principles regarding respect, honesty, diversity, and self-esteem.

“I first started at CPY when I was 9 or 10,” says Crystal Harris, 19, a student at Hartnell College who has served as a mentor for CPY, a program funded in part by a community benefit grant from Community Hospital. “I learned not to give up. When things seemed too hard, I would get frustrated, and I could have ended up hanging out doing nothing. But I learned in CPY not to do that.”

Harris came back to the program to tutor other children because “I felt like these kids deserved my help. I
wanted to see a lot of positive things happen in my community.”

Those things could manifest in many ways. The CPY curriculum, which focuses on the whole child, includes everything from trustbuilding to drama class to media literacy to computer labs.

“It hurts our hearts when we see these little ones carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders,” says executive director Shari Hastey.“ We’re trying to look at each child and find out what can make him or her successful.”

For more information about Community Partnership for Youth, call 394-4279.

Giving something back. It’s just good medicine.

Community can mean all kinds of things: a group of people, a place, fellowship. At Community Hospital, it also means the health and wellbeing of the people we serve, not only at the hospital but in the surrounding areas. Our Community Benefit Program was created to guide and measure that commitment and involvement. And in 2002, the program provided nearly $49 million in community benefit services. Here’s how the money helped:

1. We built healthy communities.
   We devoted $447,398 to assessing community health needs and addressing the health-related goals identified by regional partners, including TELLUS/Díganos and Community of Caring Monterey Peninsula.
   
   
2. We made health education and wellness priorities.
   More than $1 million was dedicated to teaching people about health risks and the effects of lifestyle choices on their health. We emphasized the value of self-care and management of health and disease. We demonstrated the importance of early detection. And we improved the competence of healthcare professionals.
   
   
3. We improved access to healthcare.
   A total of $46,767,121, which includes unpaid costs of government insurance programs, was earmarked to help people receive healthcare. This was money dedicated to people in need, people who might not otherwise receive healthcare, people right here in our community.
   
   
4. We took special care with those who have special needs.
   We invested $539,294 in meeting the physical and behavioral healthcare needs of those at risk because of age, involvement in a violent relationship, chemical dependence, mental illness, HIV infection, or socioeconomics.

THE DOLLARS AT WORK IN OUR COMMUNITY
Identified Community Needs	% of Services	% of Dollars
Building Healthy Communities	11.0	0.9
Health Education and Wellness	60.3	2.1
Improving Access to Healthcare	11.0	95.9
Special Care for Special Needs	17.7	1.1
Total	100.0	100.0

 

 

 

http://www.chomp.org/news/pulse/2003/sumfall03/cpy.aspx