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Youth Empowerment Center News

But a California Endowment grant just gave the center's prevention, health and leadership programs a vital $50,000 shot in the arm, and executive director Lynn Sherard-Stuhr couldn't be more reassured.

"It's funding that will help stabilize our program," she said.

Even though a robust capital campaign for ENTC's future building has amassed hundreds of thousands of dollars in the last few years, getting enough funds to keep the center's current programs alive has posed a daunting challenge.

ENTC recently chopped about $34,000 from its annual budget - especially after the county cut funding for programs on sexually transmitted diseases and drug abuse last year.

Because prevention is such an integral part of the center's mission, El Nido has continued to run these programs anyway, but it's thrown the budget into a constant state of uncertainty.

With this new grant, the center's operations no longer will be "living from week to week," said program manager Cristin Lawrence; staff's days of quiet panicking are over - at least for the next year.

The California Endowment is a private, statewide health foundation that seeks to improve the quality of California's public health systems and promote health at a local level.

Sherard-Stuhr applied for the grant three times and worked closely with the foundation's staff before getting final approval. The long-awaited phone call she received last week threw her into a momentary state of shock - followed by overwhelming joy and relief.

According to the grant parameters, the money will go toward prevention and youth development programs to address substance abuse, obesity and nutrition for at-risk, low-income youth. At the end of 2005, ENTC must demonstrate - through a series of assessment reports - how it was able to accomplish these goals.

The grant requirements are very specific; at least 60 teens must participate in both the center's "Healthy Teen" program and the "Youth Making Big Changes" leadership program.

At the end of the year, at least 50 percent of teens in the health program must show health improvement and 80 percent of teens with health issues should be referred to a health provider. In the leadership program, at least two health-related community projects should be implemented.

And even though the grant is structured, the two programs it focuses on are incredibly comprehensive - from addressing mental and emotional health needs to STD prevention to educating kids on conflict resolution to instilling a sense of community values.

California Endowment program assistant Vy Nguyen said El Nido's proposal was "compelling" and drew attention because "they serve a target population, working with really underserved and at-risk youth," she said.

And El Nido's track record showed strong participation from local teens.

The foundation discovered "all kinds of kids come to the center, and we were impressed with the involvement of youth and the fact that they were showing up (to El Nido)." Nguyen said.

And that means as long as the center finds creative ways to keep youth engaged - rather than turned off - in healthy behaviors, it has the potential to make a real lasting impact, Sherard-Stuhr said.

Rather than providing information in a lecture format, the real focus for ENTC staff is to support, listen and foster trusting relationships with its young members, and to make education a part of their daily conversations and exchanges.

Recently, ENTC's role has even expanded beyond the domain of educating kids on drugs, tobacco, violence and sexual behaviors - and into the rudimentary realm of nutrition. Poor diet runs rampant among many teens and, if left unchecked, teens can be susceptible to illness, malnutrition and obesity. Studies of the teen center's population has shown that diabetes, heart disease, asthma and dental decay are common in some of the families.

"Nutrition is huge," said Lawrence. Because parents are often working, many teens cook their own dinners at home - and they're usually frozen or microwaveable. Or their family has no money for food. Or it's just poor eating habits.

El Nido has always provided meals and snacks for kids, and staff has to keep a delicate balance of filling the pantry with good things that they will still want to eat, such as soups, beans, spaghetti and fruit. Sherard-Stuhr recently stocked up on bottles of multivitamins at the food bank and they're now in high demand, she said.

Spending a lot of time with youth also keeps staff keenly attuned to their behaviors. When they feel sick, sluggish or have a headache, Lawrence starts with the basics, "Did you eat breakfast? Are you eating lunch? What are you eating?"

Sherard-Stuhr, who is a nurse, said, "You notice when you see a kid drinking five Pepsis in a row, or a 13-year-old is drinking coffee."

Years ago when Sherard-Stuhr started holding a weekly girls' group, she found a lot of them hadn't eaten all day by the time the 5 p.m. meeting rolled around. Some did it on purpose. Some couldn't afford to buy lunch.

Cooking dinner together provided a perfect and casual opportunity to discuss nutrition and act as a good role model when it came to a sensible diet. It can also lead to conversations about eating disorders and body image - two issues that young women often struggle with.

The informal approach works well. Many ENTC teens are becoming more aware of good eating habits. One girl lost 10 pounds just giving up soda.

"It's really amazing how more kids are choosing water," said Lawrence. "We just had a birthday party and a family brought three cases of bottled water (as a contribution), and nobody wanted soda."

These days teens are more interested than ever in cooking. Two kids in particular volunteered to come in and make dinner for everybody each week.

One effective way to make use of the new endowment funds is to bring in a nutritionist periodically, said Sherard-Stuhr.

And in a recent partnership with the Park Point Club, scholarships are being offered to teen center members. That, combined with a vibrant boxing program at ENTC, has recently instilled a heightened awareness of physical fitness among teens.

In the end, it's not about replacing junk food with bran and tofu.

What ENTC's focus boils down to "is encouraging teens to make healthy choices," said Sherard-Stuhr. "Like picking a salad rather than supersizing."

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Youth Empowerment
Lorraine Bowman, President
4249 Manzanita Drive
San Diego, California 92105
info@empowering-youth.org