When

The Early Registration Party is for graduating seniors who intend to enroll at City College of San Francisco for Fall 2013 can register for classes early! 

Registering early increases your chances of getting the classes you need.

RSVP AT http://earlyregistration.eventbrite.com AND SELECT THE LOCATION YOU PLAN TO ATTEND:

• George Washington High School
• Burton High School
• Galileo High School
• Mission High School
• CCSF Ocean Campus

REGISTRATION INFORMATION
 Must complete all steps of the matriculation process by June 13, 2013 in order to register early (Apply for Admissions, Placement Test, New Student Orientation, Meet with a CCSF counselor).
 Please bring your CCSF ID and Initial Education Plan to the Registration Party.
 SFUSD and City College counselors will be available to help with the registration process.

PIZZA AND SNACKS PROVIDED.

If you can’t make it to an Early Registration Party, please register for your classes on-line at www.ccsf.edu, click on MyCCSF and connect to your Web4 account.

Source: City College of San Francisco, May 21, 2013

What is New ERA (Economic Rights for All)?

New ERA is a team of youth that will carry out a youth-run campaign to raise awareness about the predatory nature of fringe financial services (payday lenders, check-cashers, rent-to-own stores and pawn shops), how low-income communities are targeted by these businesses and to let community members know about their financial rights and options.

A team of 6 youth will be trained about community financial issues, community organizing, campaign strategies and how to engage community members in a campaign. Upon finishing their training  youth will design and carry out presentations and encourage other youth, community organizations, advocacy groups and local officials to improve the financial services available in San Francisco’s low-income neighborhoods—to create a new era of economic opportunity for young people!  NEW ERA is a program of Mission SF.

Click here to download New ERA application. Deadline for application is Friday, May 31st, 2013 at 5:00pm.

Youth Stipends (Beginning in September) Youth will receive training, ongoing support and a stipend in exchange for the time they spend building knowledge, skills and leading the New ERA organizing project.

For more information or if you have any questions, contact Jessica Leal: jleal@mission.coop. Or visit the website: www.missionsf.org.

Source: Mission SF, May 21, 2013

There will be a Hiring/Interview Fair on 5/29 for these opportunities. Click here to download Hiring/Interview Fair flyer.

How to apply
1. Submit resumes to business.services@sfgov.org. Deadline to submit resumes is 5:00pm May 21, 2013.
2. An OEWD representative will contact qualified applicants to
schedule a brief prescreening session
3. Successful applicants may be scheduled prior to the date of the
Hiring/Interview Fair for the 9:30 am to 12:30 pm session, or
the 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm session
4. OEWD representatives will provide the location of the event to
successful applicants after the prescreening
5. Applicants must bring 3 copies of their resume to the
Hiring/Interview Fair on May 29, 2013, and arrive on time

Source: S.F. OEWD, May 16, 2013

Earn money, gain skills and get experience to advance your career or education.

If you’re ready to earn and learn, SF Summer Jobs+ can help you get ready with resume assistance  mock interviews and coaching, and then connect you with a database of dozens of jobs and internships. Whether you’re a first timer or you’ve had some experience, we’ve got hundreds of opportunities ranging from business, nonprofit, retail, service, government and more. If you’re motivated, ready to work, between 16 and 24 and able to work in San Francisco, Summer Jobs+ has got something for you!

Go to www.sfsummerjobs.org and follow these 3 steps:

1. Register and upload your resume;
2. Follow the directions in the email SF Summer Jobs+ sends you
3. Express your interest in jobs

For more information, visit www.sfsummerjobs.org or call 211.

She found her way to San Francisco’s Independent Living Skill Program (ILSP) on Valencia street, where she took advantage of the program’s college-prep, scholarship support, and college fair. And now in her twenties, Claudia is about to graduate from college—a feat that only between 3 and 11% of the nation’s former foster youth achieve—with the help from San Francisco ILSP.

The San Francisco ILSP serves 16-20 year-olds currently in foster care or who were in foster care for any period of time after age 16 —could be one day, one year, or whole life—and also youth in juvenile justice system who have an out-of-home placement. ILSP provides weekly life-skill workshops that vary greatly, from healthy cooking, money management, financial literacy, CPR and first-aid, parenting support group, job club, arts expression, college 101, signing up for Cal-Fresh, and a youth-led tutoring session every week called TGIF.

The still-alive San Francisco ILSP

This last year, First Place for Youth became the new provider for San Francisco ILSP and Maryam Toloui became its new manager. “I have been working with foster youth for about 10 years,” says Maryam. “I then came to First Place for Youth two years ago. I loved the mission to help young people be self-sufficient in a permanent way, not just until they leave the system.” When ILSP changed providers, some ILSP staff left as well, but most of the program services remained in tact. “We are still the same ILSP,” says Maryam.

But the new changes and First Place for Youth model have discouraged some youth receiving services at the old ILSP. “There’s a problem now in that some San Francisco ILSP current and former young participants feel that just because the old staff left, they should leave,”  says Claudia.

Current and former participants have told Claudia that the new ILSP has more rules and pictures on the ILSP walls of Oakland youth that few recognize. “I hear a lot of ‘you guys took away our staff and our home!’ complaints. It’s not really a bad environment, just different. It’s going to take awhile to rebuild trust,” says Claudia.

Still, Claudia is optimistic about First Place for Youth’s program model. “Yes, a lot of things have changed. I can see why youth were upset, lost community workers, but at same time there’s still room for improvement. First Place for Youth is really good program. They have good goals and they kept the advisory program to express what San Francisco ILSP should be like. ”

First Place for Youth model

Traditionally, the First Place for Youth model has been a successful THP-Plus housing program for former foster youth in five counties in California, including San Francisco, LA, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano. ”Of the youth in First Place for Youth housing program, 90% go to college, 80% of them attain jobs—compared to 30% of former foster youth statewide—and 90% of youth have safe or stable housing upon exiting THP-Plus,” says Maryam.

“We have been working with San Francisco youth for many years, as a THP-Plus provider” says Maryam. “So now we are bringing that successful track record and support from our housing program to our independent living program.”

Focus on Employment and Education

First Place for Youth’s first focus is on employment and education, “the sure-fire way to achieve long-term life stability for former foster youth,” says Maryam. “Without them, you are missing the big picture to how they can be healthy young adults.”

In addition to employment and education support, First Place for Youth has a holistic approach to the needs of current and former foster youth. “We have a large scope in our title “Independent Living Skills” which means we are looking at the whole picture of a young person’s life,” says Maryam. “While focusing on employment and education, we help young people build strong, permanent connections to fill in the rest of their needs.”

First Place for Youth runs two individualized components: First Foundation and Seneca Center.  The First Foundation works with youth who are still in high school and need extra support to graduate, meeting weekly with staff to address the barriers to achievement and develop the skills to move on to post-secondary education. “Of the youth in the First Foundation in two other counties,” says Maryam, “77% graduated on time.”

The San Francisco ILSP’s other individualized component is the Seneca Center. Since many former foster youth do not have the network of permanent adults because of the isolation of many years in foster care, the Seneca Center program prepares them for adulthood by helping to build a network around them.

Two Seneca counselors work in ILSP offices to re-connect young people with family, distant relatives, old teachers, or anyone else they have lost touch with or didn’t know they had in their network to rely on permanently. This support network can help the young person with anything from if their electricity goes out, they need somewhere to go for Thanksgiving, or they’re going through a bad breakup, etc.

Change from Measuring Outputs to Outcomes

When asked what most differentiates First Place for Youth from the old ILSP provider, Maryam pointed out the change to how the San Francisco government will measure the program’s success. “This is the first time that the San Francisco ILSP has had outcomes attached to their contract,” says Maryam.

According to Maryam, across the state, independent living skills programs for current and former foster youth have traditionally been held accountable by output, or evaluated only by how many people the program served, and not by how well the young people do after the program.

“San Francisco Human Services Agency is leading the way in measuring not only outputs, but the outcome requirements: that 90% of the youth that work with Seneca will have a minimum three permanent connections before they leave; that 60% of youth will receive HS diploma or GED; and 75% will be employed or actively job-ready and searching,” says Maryam.

Building Foster Care Community in San Francisco

Aside from individual outcomes, San Francisco ILSP fosters a larger, healthier foster care community. “We are really trying to be a part of the foster youth community for other providers, by allotting days for providers to co-locate and come to ILSP to provide HIV testing, Cal-Fresh assistance, and  infant health programs,” says Maryam.

The San Francisco ILSP also run large community building events, celebrations for major holidays, and a lot of events for National Foster Care Month in May. For example, the recent Foster Youth Leadership Awards ceremony with SFUSD, California Youth Connection, and Human Services Agency honored 30 current and former foster youth leaders.

This last week, ILSP hosted a live “Independent City” game where each young person received a bio, including info as to what kind of education and income they have, and then had to navigate the “Independent City” in order to find an apartment, open a PG&E account, find a job, etc.

The ILSP’s biggest event of year, however, is the ILSP graduation ceremony for any ILSP-eligible person who graduated from high school, earned a GED, completed a vocational program, or finished an AA program this year. This event will be held in June.

This last November, Claudia helped Maryam and the new ILSP set up their first “Dia de los Muertos” alter. “The first ILSP as First Place for Youth “Day of the Dead” alter  had a lot of youth turn out,” says Claudia, “and I’m looking forward to do the “Day of the Dead” event every year.”

Still personally assisting the youth who she taught ESL classes at ILSP, Claudia wants all San Francisco ILSP alumni to get involved. “If they did volunteer work or met with ILSP staff and let them know ‘this worked for me’ or ‘that didn’t,’ then I think that those of us who have been involved in the San Francisco ILSP community for a long time would create a little bit of that world that we liked so much,” says Claudia.

Life beyond San Francisco ILSP

Now both a San Francisco ILSP alumna and former employee, Claudia will graduate next spring from San Francisco State University, where she will major in Comparative World Literature. Besides her classes and extra-curricular activities, Claudia will start to intern on more law-related positions to bolster her law school application.

“I keep saying “Yeah, I’ll prepare for law school,” but different things keep popping up,” she says. Claudia knows she wants to practice dependency law. “I will start working dependency law, or non-profit. I’m still figuring out how busy I will be,” she says.

Its successful stories like Claudia’s that inspire Maryam to continue at ILSP. “The work we do with young people really affects their ability to live fulfilling lives,” says Maryam, “and that is why I stay.”

When

At the BAYMN FEST, the Bay Area Youth Media Network (BAYMN) will present screenings, workshops, a transmedia gallery, a makerspace, parties and networking opportunities. BAYMN is a consortium of nonprofit organizations that believe in the power of media as a means to engage youth voice, self-expression and empowerment and to inspire social change.

The BAYMN FEST will be a place for young artists to share their work, meet their peers, acquire new tools, make their voices heard—and win cool prizes and media-making tools! 

BAYMN received over 300 youth-produced videos through a call for entries in a variety of categories including Science, Technology, & Innovation; Arts & Expression; and Social Justice & Community Engagement; and they have put together an exciting series of shorts programs that will screen throughout the weekend.

This event is open to the public. This festival is funded by Adobe Youth Voices and The AT&T Foundation.

To attend to this event, you must RSVP here — www.baymnfest.eventbrite.com.

Source: BAYMN, May 9, 2013

This application is due on Saturday, June 1.

Art Speak offers on-the-job training and stipends to four San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) youth in grades 10–12. Interns learn about art in the museum collection and gain knowledge of Asian art and cultural traditions. Interns interact with curatorial, marketing, and education staff to learn about museum operations and careers in the arts, and develop their leadership skills by working with the general public and interviewing local artists both established and emerging. Interns develop art-related content for family, school, and public programs, and manage social media for the museum’s free teen membership program (Teen Pass).

The Art Speak internship is a paid nine-month experience that runs from September 2013–May 2014. Interns are onsite Thursdays after school and Sunday, with other weekend days as needed, and are expected to commit between six and eight hours each week.

What Will You Do at the Museum?
Discover the art and cultural traditions of Asia and learn about special exhibitions, like Yoga: the Art of Transformation and Proximities.
Develop materials for learning about art in the museum’s collection
Help with public programs and show off your knowledge of art and cultural practices
Use your social media skills to build an online youth presence and generate interest in the museum’s free teen membership program, Teen Pass
Learn about the Bay Area arts scene and interview local artists
Meet museum staff to learn about running a world class museum

Who’s Eligible?
SFUSD high school student in good standing in grades 10, 11 and 12
Interest in art, Asian culture, local artists, museums, social media, education, and customer service
Artistic, outgoing, reliable, responsible, self-motivated, independent, enthusiastic team players
Comfortable interacting with the public, enjoys public speaking, and likes working with kids and other teens
Committed to being at the museum six to eight hours a week

What’s in It for You?
California minimum wage for all hours worked each week in the form of a monthly paycheck
Service learning credit through your school (if applicable)
Teen Art Pass membership—free access to programs and exhibitions
Spend time with professional artists, museum staff, and other artistic teens
Opportunities to expand your skill set and build your portfolio
Field trips to other museums and galleries
Rich experience for resumes, jobs, and college applications

Applications must be submitted to Allison Wyckoff, c/o Asian Art
Museum, 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco CA 94102, scanned and emailed to awyckoff@asianart.org, or faxed to
415-581-4706 by June 1st.

Source: Asian Art Museum, May 9, 2013

Current and former foster youth produce 5 stories over the 13-week program. In collaboration with the Bayview Hunters Point Center for the Arts and Technology (BAYCAT), interns will participate in digital filmmaking workshop on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30-­6:30 pm. This internship requires 10 hours/week.

The internship will run from February to May and end with a viewing and showcase at BAYCAT.

Click here to download Guardians of Social Change application.

Source: Fostering Media Connections, May 7, 2013

From July 22nd through August 15th, 25 Bay Area high school youth spend their afternoons immersed in contemporary art and ideas at YBCA, learning from local and global artists who make project-based, social-justice-oriented work.

You could be one of these youth! But you’ve got to get your application in before the deadline: JUNE 10th at 5:00 pm!

Then, the YAAWs spend the year (after school, on Tuesdays and Thursdays) designing and producing original community-based arts projects under the guidance of YBCA artist-mentors.

If you are:

• …a critical thinker
• …a creative visionary
• …driven to make art that inspires change in the world around you
• …excited about collaborating with other young contemporary artists
• …ready to design and produce your own community-based arts project
• …interested in FREE access to YBCA gallery exhibitions, performances and films
• …and would like to be paid up to $225 a month to do so, the YAAW is for you!

For more information, check out:

https://www.facebook.com/ybcayaaw
http://ybca-yaaw.tumblr.com/

or send an email to:

yaaw@ybca.org

Source: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, April 30, 2013

The San Francisco Department of Public Health developed the “Healing From Violence Workshop” specifically for youth 18-24 year-olds who have been impacted by community violence. The overall goal of this workshop is for youth to learn new skills and tools to heal from community violence. Participants will self reflect, share their stories, and gain knowledge on how to start their journey to healing.

Applications DUE by 4pm on Friday May 24, 2013.

Young people are required to attend all the workshops and weekly meetings in order to receive the $350 stipend. Participants will take part in 4 half day workshops and develop a personal presentation to be completed by June 14^th. Food will be provided.

Four half day workshops will be held at 1305 Evans Ave, San Francisco, CA94124.

Workshop Week One Schedule:

Monday June 3^rd 12:00pm- 4:00PM
Wednesday June 5^th 12:00pm- 4:00PM
Friday June 7^th 12:00 pm- 4:00PM

Workshop Week Two Schedule:

Monday June 10^th 12:00pm- 4:00PM
Friday June 14^th 5:00pm- 7:00 PM

For additional information, please contact Inez Loveat (415) 920- 7716 or email: inez.love@sfdph.org.

Source: YouthlineSF, May 7, 2013