Youth Link working on coordination

In the fall of 2002, representatives from 10 Cape Girardeau youth-oriented agencies met for the first time to discuss how they could collectively help children from the city's south side.

With the help of the Areawide United Way, those agencies joined hands in a partnership known as Youth Link, and over the past year and a half have found ways to coordinate programs and even address one of south Cape Girardeau's biggest problems -- transportation.

"We discovered that just getting the kids to and from these activities is a challenge in this area," said Nancy Jernigan, director of the United Way.

So Youth Link members worked to fix the problem and were able to obtain a bus to help transport students in the fall of 2003.

"It's part of the United Way's initiative to network our agencies, and something good always comes from that," Jernigan said. "We've only just begun, but it's really opened up the lines of communication."

The bus, which was donated by the Cape Girardeau School District, is shared between the participating agencies, which include the Family Resource Center, Boys and Girls Club, Salvation Army and the Community Caring Council.

While the bus is in hand, Youth Link has been unable thus far to find a certified driver and therefore isn't yet in operation. The situation is symbolic of a larger problem among the local youth agencies that Youth Link is trying to address: A lack of volunteers.

Pat Brey, director of the Family Resource Center, said the center's afterschool program always needs volunteers.

"We have a nice computer lab, but there are a lot of days the kids can't use it because we don't have anyone to manage it," Brey said.

Brey said Youth Link has allowed for greater communication between Cape Girardeau's youth programs and has helped dispel the image that they're competing against each other.

"We're all doing the same thing but differently," Brey said. "This gives kids options on how to spend their time."

Youth Link has three objectives: Identifying new and existing resources for youth; encouraging parental involvement in those activities; and helping form partnerships between agencies and the community.

The collaborative effort will allow those involved with youth programs to share resources and eliminate duplicate services.

"There are still kids out there on the street after school, and as long as there are there is still a great need for this type of program," Brey said.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, ext. 128