Research shows that becoming engaged in the community can, for youth, be a powerful stimulant of self-reliance and prosocial attitudes. FYSB promotes community service learning for youth as an effective approach to linking them to community resources.
Fellowship of Lights Youth and Community Services, a basic center and FYSB grantee in Baltimore, Maryland, has an aftercare program in which licensed social workers see families at the center or at their homes and make referrals to community services that can give ongoing support.
For 8 years a partnership with AmeriCorps also allowed the program to extend beyond the emergency shelter. Youth volunteered in the community through AmeriCorps, and the partnership brought youth into the program because they were being paid for their participation in the community. In addition, it connected youth to resources they would need after leaving care.
"Lots of kids are looking to get paid; time is of value to them," says Ross Pologee, director of Fellowship of Lights, who adds that they are thinking of reinstituting the partnership with AmeriCorps. "Involving young people in community-building activities is a connector that benefits both youth and adults in the neighborhood. It's a no-brainer."