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Youth Initiative Update.
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Staff: |
Department: |
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Loryn Clark, Executive Director |
Housing and Community |
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Susan Brown, Executive Director |
Library, Community Arts & Culture |
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Chris Blue, Executive Director |
Police, Community Safety |
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Linda Smith, Interim Director |
Parks and Recreation |
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Sarah Osmer Viñas, Assistant Director |
Housing and Community |
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Megan Peters, Community Connections Coordinator |
Housing and Community |
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Molly Luby, Special Projects Coordinator |
Library |
Overview: The purpose of this item is to provide an update on the Town’s Youth Initiative.
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Recommendation(s): |
That the Council receive this report and provide direction on the staff team’s proposed next steps.
Overview of Chapel Hill Youth Initiative
In response to the Mayor and Town Council’s interest in exploring opportunities to enhance our responsiveness to the needs and interests of youth in the community, the former Town Manager formed a new cross-departmental team including staff from the Housing and Community, Library, Parks and Recreation, and Police Departments in 2017. Building on the past collaborative youth-focused efforts of the Town, this team has intensively focused on advancing the Town’s Youth Initiative, as described below.
Youth Initiative Process and Progress to Date
• The Team developed a multi-faceted process to explore the following questions using a human-centered design approach: Who are the youth in Chapel Hill? What do they do and why? Where do they go and why?
• The Team conducted over a dozen focus groups, analyzed secondary data sources, and convened ~50 youth-focused organizations to help us develop a deeper understanding of youth’s lived experiences and inform the proposed solutions we develop.
• Key themes emerged from the data:
1. Youth want safe and inclusive spaces
2. Youth have busy schedules and face pressure to succeed
3. Discrimination impacts youth’s lived experiences
4. Youth face mental health challenges
Proposed Next Steps
From our team’s extensive engagement of youth and organizations in the community and analysis of secondary data, we propose the following next steps as outlined in greater detail in the attached staff report:
1. Identify and implement strategies to make existing Chapel Hill spaces (Town spaces, business spaces, and other spaces) be seen as safe and welcoming to youth.
2. Continue conversations with youth, families, and youth-serving organizations, with special focus on issues of equity, diversity, inclusion, and mental health.
3. Continue the Town’s cross-departmental collaboration and communication.
Fiscal Impact/Resources: There is no fiscal impact identified at this time aside from costs associated with focus group materials and staff time for project coordination. The potential costs associated with implementation of the proposed next steps will be determined based on direction received from Council.
Council Goals:
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Create a Place for Everyone |
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Develop Good Places, New Spaces |
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Support Community Prosperity |
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Nurture Our Community |
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Facilitate Getting Around |
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Grow Town and Gown Collaboration |
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Attachments: |
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• Draft Staff Presentation |
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• Staff Report: Town of Chapel Hill Youth Initiative Report |
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• Attachment: Youth Infographic 2018 |
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• Attachment: Focus Group Participation Summary |
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The Agenda will reflect the text below and/or the motion text will be used during the meeting. |
presenter
PRESENTER: Loryn Clark, Housing and Community
Susan Brown, Library/Community Arts & Culture
RECOMMENDATION: That the Council receive this update on the Youth Initiative and give direction on proposed next steps.