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May 5,1993 Page 3 Fresno youth discovers help at The Sanctuary ♦ Second chances; aggressive programs turning kids around By Marni Garrison Staff Writer Fifteen-year-old Malaika Monson said The Sanctuary's shelter for youihs was the best place pol ice could have brought her after she ran away from her mother's home. "It was better for me to be in the shelter than to go home," Monson said. "There arc people here to talk to and kids to talk to. "If you have any problems, you can talk to anybody here and they'll have time for you. At home my mom wouldn't talk." The Sanctuary, sponsored by the Fresno EOC, is situated in a former synagogue at 2336 Calaveras St. in downtown Fresno, is a coalition of 16 different youth-scrvicc-rclatcd organizations. They banned together a year ago to provide their various services all under one roof. Since opening The Sanctuary has helped more than 1200 Fresno youths. "It's a one-stop-shop of youth services." said Dr. Derrik Spiva, Coordinator of Club Sanctuary, one of many different projects of The Sanctuary. Club Sanctuary is located at Funston Place, a government housing project near Clinton and Fresno streets, to provide services for youths in this high-risk area of Fresno. For students like Monson, who first learned about The Sanctuary through the shelter, having so many different programs in one spot helps to get them back on the right track. Monson who had not attended high school for about a month even before running away, is now in Restart, a program that prepares students to go back to school and allows them to cam high school credit in the process. Restart has an office at The Sanctuary. "Malaika has shown a real positive turn-around after being in our facility for a short time," said Curtis Shepard, 30, one of three case managers at The Sanctuary. Monson will be returning to Bullard High School in September. She is also involved in The Sanctuary's theater group and is finding a sum mer job with The Sanctuary's help. After leaving the shelter, Monson went to live with her aunt and uncle and continues to attend functions at the facility every day. She credits The Sanctuary with helping her to get back on track "I'm going to be somebody," Monson said. "Here they teach you that your life is important. Curtis (Shepard) showed me the way to go. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here today." Shepard, who grew up in Harlem, knows what the kids he's working with are facing. He'sbccn in there. He saidatonc time while living in Harlem he sold drags and pimped. He eventually decided he wasn't on the right road and changed his life. "I feel the best person to teach one of these lads how tough it is, is someone who's been there," Shepard said. Besides the programs already mentioned. The Sanctuary offers many other services to youths. Various recreational activities are offered through the program. The facility has a gym with Stair Masters, a Life Cycle, and free weights and a recreation room with table tennis. "Wc have found it easier to get a kid in here on a recreational basis first and then refer them to counseling." Shepard said. The Police Athletic League (PAL) is also affiliated with The Sanctuary, with Officer Al Hernandez working full-lime at Club Sanctuary. Hernandez has formed a basketball league and a T-ball league. He also arranges field trips for youths and takes them to local sporting events. "Having a uniformed officer around full-time positively impacts the community and starts to build trust with law enforcementandotheragencics," said Alex Schooler, minority male coordinator at The Sanctuary. According to Schooler, PAL establishes a good relationship between police and youths and can lead to a new respect of officers from the youihs. Another program called Police Explorers, which allows youths to go on ride-alongs or spend a day in the office with an officer, is also helping to change youihs' views of officers, according to Shepard. A World ImpactGym is also getting involved with The Sanctuary's recreational activities by providing self- defense classes to the youths. FresnoCity College also helps with atheaier troop, where youths perform plays about the problems they are facing in their daily lives. According to Spiva, an outreach production to show what The Sanctuary offers will be ihc first production. The youths will also be working on a video to illustrate what The Sanctuary is all about "Friday Night at the Club" is in the works and will allow kids to talk to others about things that arc important to them. And this summer they will produce a play about gang activity to communicate tooihcrkids what gangs do. Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) provides job training and vocational training to youths. The program attracts youths through activities and recreation and then refers them for summer jobs, according to Spiva. The Sanctuary has a Career Center * to help youihs look toward a future career and college. Computers are available for the kids to leam how to use and this work can also go to help them earn high school credit through the Restart program. Back to Basics, a parent counseling group also meets at the facility. It teaches basic structure in the home, according to Shepard. The group teaches parents not to fear their kids. It teaches how to set rales and guidelines and the consequences that will follow if the rales are not followed. And it tells parents that they must be consistent. "Children and parents arc brought together to voice opinions, so the students know the rules and regulations of the home," Shepard said. "Without Back to Basics, many more problems with counseling would occur. The program saves us a lot of money in counseling." Shepard who also sits on the Black AIDS Advisory Committee (BAAC). said that people think AIDS is something that they will not be affected by. The facility tries to educated youths as much as possible that AIDS is something that can affect their lives. Shepard said the largest group of HIV infection is now ages 17-24 and society must work get this information out to anyone who will listen. One agency that The Sanctuary relics on is the Volunteer Bureau. "We receivcalot of traffic and parking violators that get assigned to do community service and they fill their hours here," Shepard said. "It's an important part of our program." Further information may be obtained by calling 498-8543. Education leaving Hispanics behind * Reports find low support structure reinforces failure By Leo Peiia Staff Writer The Hispanic dropoul rate is ihc highestof any minority group in California high schools, according to a 1991 Newsweek article. State census figures for 1990 show that less than half of Hispanics under the age of 25 have high school diplomas. In comparison, 78 percent of whites and 61 percent of African-Americans ages 25 and older have received their high school diplomas. Why is the dropoul rate so high for Hispanics? The answer is not simple or clear cut. Educators and counselors at both the high school and university levels gi ve varying explanations for the problem. Some cite language barriers.povcrty and dysfunctional families/while others say it's the school system or lack of Hispanic teachers. What is clear is ihat Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic minority in California and the least educated. Manuel Nunez, a Fresno Unified School District board member,said that ihe total dropout rate for Fresno Unified is 32 percent. Nunez, who is a counselor for the CSUF Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), said that hiring more Hispanic teachers, especially in schools that have a majority of Hispanics students is one possible solution to the high dropoul rale. Not only is there a need for more Hispanic teachers, but also for more Hispanic administrators, he said. Dr. Robert Segura.profcssor of social foundation in the school of Educaiion,said,"What you're dealing with is not a simple thing. It's a very involved thing." "Poor tcaching.poorcurriculum .lack of parental involvemcnt,poverty and language barriers are just a few factors," Scgura said, "that lead to the low levels of educational attainment by Hispanics." He said that there is a need for more "We live in a society that wants a stems from lack of control of die certified bilingual teachers. 30-sccond solution," he said. adolcsccntmaleinthcHispanichomc. Scgura said 76 percent of Hispanic Cano also agrees that one of the In the Hispanic home, the male is students in California arc limited En- solutions to ihc high dropout rate is allowed much more freedom outside glish proficient.which means they the need for more Hispanic leaders in the home.Canosaid.while the female "The perception is that Hispanic students are not as capable of handling college prep curriculum as whites and Asians." —Manuel Nunez, FUSD Board Member don't speak English. He said that only 21 percent of Hispanics.in their senior year of high school,are reading at grade level and 62 percent arc reading below grade level. Gilbert Cano, counselor at Orosi High school, said that the solution to the problem isn't simple. "It's multifacetcd."said Cano. education and more Hispanics in teaching positions. Orosi High has a 90 percent Hispanic population but only two Hispanic teachers and one Hispanic counselor^aid Cano. Cano said.'Tm not negating racism," bui he said that the Mexican lifestyle also is at fault. Cano said that much of the problem often is more restricted in activities outside the home. "Wc need to give the same control to the guys and loosen up on the girls," said Cano. He said that this lack of control on the males may lead lo them not disciplining themselves to do better in school. He said that the top 12 names on a recent honor roll at Orosi High School were females. Scgura said Hispanic teachers make up only 7 percent of the total number of elementary teachers in Califomia.compared to white teachers who make up 81 percent of the total. Only 10 percent of the 6,600 full-time teachers in Fresno County arc Hispanic, according to the Fresno Board of Education's Research and Evaluation Department. Statewide, Hispanics make up only 8 percent of all full-time teachers. Nuflcz said the lack of Hispanic high school students in college prep courses is another area of concern. He said that perceptions and attitudes by various school personnel serve to exclude Hispanics from being pushed to classes offering college prep material. "The perception is that Hispanic students are not as capable of handling See Education, page 13. CHINA STATION Authentic Chinese Cuisine Reasonably priced for the college student. Dinner and Lunches$2.75 & up Served directly from woJcl 1768 E. Barstow I (Bulldog plaza) ■ J 431-4060 |N<* 50 <t Off y purchase over $2.00 ■* 'afid widi any other offer] The Different, Pleasant Dining Experience 229-6353 4743 N. Blackstone Br!)— Try our Delicious Lamb Shanks THE BEST IN PERSIAN AND EUROPEAN CUISINE ,~®* Erfendshl lis COMPARE OUR JK PRICES Albertsorvs' *WE DROWN THE COMPETITION! PLUS ONE FREE7LB BAG OF ICE WITH K.AC.II KKK Itllll.lUSK KEG VARSITY UNIVERSITY j PRICES LIQUOR LIQUOR 59-99 62.95 TARPLY LIQUOR 59-99 US 53.99 53.99 53-99 YOU 6.00 8.90 SAVF-! •ALBERTSONS ON SHAW AVE. IN Cl.OVIS •SAVE ON ALL KEGS 0I: MILLER, COORS. 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Object Description
Title | 1993_05 Insight May 1993 |
Alternative Title | Insight (California State University, Fresno) |
Publisher | Dept. of Journalism, California State University, Fresno. |
Publication Date | 1993 |
Description | Weekly during the school year. Vol. 1, no. 1 (Oct. 8, 1969)-v. 29, no. 23 (May 13, 1998). Ceased with May 13, 1998, issue. Title from masthead. Merged with Daily collegian. |
Subject | California State University, Fresno Periodicals |
Contributors | California State University, Fresno Dept. of Journalism |
Coverage | October 8, 1969 – May 13, 1998 |
Format | Microfilm reels, 35mm |
Technical Information | Scanned at 600 dpi; TIFF; Microfilm ScanPro 2000 “E-image data” |
Language | eng |
Description
Title | Insight May 5 1993 p 3 |
Alternative Title | Insight (California State University, Fresno) |
Publication Date | 1993 |
Full-Text-Search |
May 5,1993
Page 3
Fresno youth discovers
help at The Sanctuary
♦ Second chances;
aggressive programs
turning kids around
By Marni Garrison
Staff Writer
Fifteen-year-old Malaika Monson
said The Sanctuary's shelter for
youihs was the best place pol ice could
have brought her after she ran away
from her mother's home.
"It was better for me to be in the
shelter than to go home," Monson
said. "There arc people here to talk to
and kids to talk to.
"If you have any problems, you can
talk to anybody here and they'll have
time for you. At home my mom
wouldn't talk."
The Sanctuary, sponsored by the
Fresno EOC, is situated in a former
synagogue at 2336 Calaveras St. in
downtown Fresno, is a coalition of 16
different youth-scrvicc-rclatcd organizations. They banned together a year
ago to provide their various services
all under one roof. Since opening The
Sanctuary has helped more than 1200
Fresno youths.
"It's a one-stop-shop of youth services." said Dr. Derrik Spiva, Coordinator of Club Sanctuary, one of many
different projects of The Sanctuary.
Club Sanctuary is located at Funston
Place, a government housing project
near Clinton and Fresno streets, to
provide services for youths in this
high-risk area of Fresno.
For students like Monson, who first
learned about The Sanctuary through
the shelter, having so many different
programs in one spot helps to get
them back on the right track.
Monson who had not attended high
school for about a month even before
running away, is now in Restart, a
program that prepares students to go
back to school and allows them to
cam high school credit in the process. Restart has an office at The
Sanctuary.
"Malaika has shown a real positive
turn-around after being in our facility
for a short time," said Curtis Shepard,
30, one of three case managers at The
Sanctuary.
Monson will be returning to Bullard
High School in September. She is
also involved in The Sanctuary's
theater group and is finding a sum
mer job with The Sanctuary's help.
After leaving the shelter, Monson
went to live with her aunt and uncle
and continues to attend functions at
the facility every day. She credits The
Sanctuary with helping her to get
back on track
"I'm going to be somebody,"
Monson said. "Here they teach you
that your life is important. Curtis
(Shepard) showed me the way to go.
If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be
here today."
Shepard, who grew up in Harlem,
knows what the kids he's working
with are facing. He'sbccn in there. He
saidatonc time while living in Harlem
he sold drags and pimped.
He eventually decided he wasn't on
the right road and changed his life.
"I feel the best person to teach one
of these lads how tough it is, is someone who's been there," Shepard said.
Besides the programs already mentioned. The Sanctuary offers many
other services to youths.
Various recreational activities are
offered through the program. The facility has a gym with Stair Masters, a
Life Cycle, and free weights and a
recreation room with table tennis.
"Wc have found it easier to get a kid
in here on a recreational basis first
and then refer them to counseling."
Shepard said.
The Police Athletic League (PAL)
is also affiliated with The Sanctuary,
with Officer Al Hernandez working
full-lime at Club Sanctuary.
Hernandez has formed a basketball
league and a T-ball league. He also
arranges field trips for youths and
takes them to local sporting events.
"Having a uniformed officer around
full-time positively impacts the community and starts to build trust with
law enforcementandotheragencics,"
said Alex Schooler, minority male
coordinator at The Sanctuary.
According to Schooler, PAL establishes a good relationship between
police and youths and can lead to a
new respect of officers from the
youihs.
Another program called Police Explorers, which allows youths to go on
ride-alongs or spend a day in the office with an officer, is also helping to
change youihs' views of officers, according to Shepard.
A World ImpactGym is also getting
involved with The Sanctuary's recreational activities by providing self-
defense classes to the youths.
FresnoCity College also helps with
atheaier troop, where youths perform
plays about the problems they are
facing in their daily lives.
According to Spiva, an outreach
production to show what The Sanctuary offers will be ihc first production.
The youths will also be working on a
video to illustrate what The Sanctuary is all about
"Friday Night at the Club" is in the
works and will allow kids to talk to
others about things that arc important
to them. And this summer they will
produce a play about gang activity to
communicate tooihcrkids what gangs
do.
Youth Opportunities Unlimited
(YOU) provides job training and vocational training to youths. The program attracts youths through activities and recreation and then refers
them for summer jobs, according to
Spiva.
The Sanctuary has a Career Center
* to help youihs look toward a future
career and college. Computers are
available for the kids to leam how to
use and this work can also go to help
them earn high school credit through
the Restart program.
Back to Basics, a parent counseling
group also meets at the facility.
It teaches basic structure in the home,
according to Shepard. The group
teaches parents not to fear their kids.
It teaches how to set rales and guidelines and the consequences that will
follow if the rales are not followed.
And it tells parents that they must be
consistent.
"Children and parents arc brought
together to voice opinions, so the students know the rules and regulations
of the home," Shepard said. "Without
Back to Basics, many more problems
with counseling would occur. The
program saves us a lot of money in
counseling."
Shepard who also sits on the Black
AIDS Advisory Committee (BAAC).
said that people think AIDS is something that they will not be affected by.
The facility tries to educated youths
as much as possible that AIDS is
something that can affect their lives.
Shepard said the largest group of
HIV infection is now ages 17-24 and
society must work get this information out to anyone who will listen.
One agency that The Sanctuary relics on is the Volunteer Bureau.
"We receivcalot of traffic and parking violators that get assigned to do
community service and they fill their
hours here," Shepard said. "It's an
important part of our program."
Further information may be obtained
by calling 498-8543.
Education leaving Hispanics behind
* Reports find low
support structure
reinforces failure
By Leo Peiia
Staff Writer
The Hispanic dropoul rate is ihc
highestof any minority group in California high schools, according to a
1991 Newsweek article.
State census figures for 1990 show
that less than half of Hispanics under
the age of 25 have high school diplomas.
In comparison, 78 percent of whites
and 61 percent of African-Americans
ages 25 and older have received their
high school diplomas.
Why is the dropoul rate so high for
Hispanics?
The answer is not simple or clear
cut.
Educators and counselors at both
the high school and university levels
gi ve varying explanations for the problem.
Some cite language barriers.povcrty
and dysfunctional families/while others say it's the school system or lack
of Hispanic teachers.
What is clear is ihat Hispanics are
the fastest growing ethnic minority in
California and the least educated.
Manuel Nunez, a Fresno Unified
School District board member,said
that ihe total dropout rate for Fresno
Unified is 32 percent.
Nunez, who is a counselor for the
CSUF Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), said that hiring more
Hispanic teachers, especially in
schools that have a majority of Hispanics students is one possible solution to the high dropoul rale.
Not only is there a need for more
Hispanic teachers, but also for more
Hispanic administrators, he said.
Dr. Robert Segura.profcssor of social foundation in the school of
Educaiion,said,"What you're dealing
with is not a simple thing. It's a very
involved thing."
"Poor tcaching.poorcurriculum .lack
of parental involvemcnt,poverty and
language barriers are just a few factors," Scgura said, "that lead to the
low levels of educational attainment
by Hispanics."
He said that there is a need for more "We live in a society that wants a stems from lack of control of die
certified bilingual teachers. 30-sccond solution," he said. adolcsccntmaleinthcHispanichomc.
Scgura said 76 percent of Hispanic Cano also agrees that one of the In the Hispanic home, the male is
students in California arc limited En- solutions to ihc high dropout rate is allowed much more freedom outside
glish proficient.which means they the need for more Hispanic leaders in the home.Canosaid.while the female
"The perception is that Hispanic students are not
as capable of handling college prep curriculum as
whites and Asians."
—Manuel Nunez, FUSD Board Member
don't speak English.
He said that only 21 percent of
Hispanics.in their senior year of high
school,are reading at grade level and
62 percent arc reading below grade
level.
Gilbert Cano, counselor at Orosi
High school, said that the solution to
the problem isn't simple.
"It's multifacetcd."said Cano.
education and more Hispanics in
teaching positions.
Orosi High has a 90 percent Hispanic population but only two Hispanic teachers and one Hispanic
counselor^aid Cano.
Cano said.'Tm not negating racism," bui he said that the Mexican
lifestyle also is at fault.
Cano said that much of the problem
often is more restricted in activities
outside the home.
"Wc need to give the same control
to the guys and loosen up on the
girls," said Cano.
He said that this lack of control on
the males may lead lo them not disciplining themselves to do better in
school.
He said that the top 12 names on a
recent honor roll at Orosi High
School were females.
Scgura said Hispanic teachers make
up only 7 percent of the total number
of elementary teachers in
Califomia.compared to white
teachers who make up 81 percent
of the total.
Only 10 percent of the 6,600
full-time teachers in Fresno
County arc Hispanic, according
to the Fresno Board of
Education's Research and Evaluation Department.
Statewide, Hispanics make up
only 8 percent of all full-time
teachers.
Nuflcz said the lack of Hispanic
high school students in college
prep courses is another area of
concern.
He said that perceptions and attitudes by various school personnel
serve to exclude Hispanics from being pushed to classes offering college
prep material.
"The perception is that Hispanic students are not as capable of handling
See Education, page 13.
CHINA STATION
Authentic Chinese Cuisine
Reasonably priced for the college student.
Dinner and Lunches$2.75 & up
Served directly from woJcl
1768 E. Barstow I
(Bulldog plaza) ■ J
431-4060 |N<*
50 |