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Strong and vibrant communities help build brighter futures for adults, but primarily for children and young people. But what helps build brighter futures? Youth thrive when families can access enriching opportunities that curate positive youth development and encourage connectivity to their schools and communities, growing relationships, and helping prepare for independence and adulthood.
Resource-rich neighborhoods offer youth development opportunities like career preparation, after-school activities, recreation, and mental health empowerment. These kinds of community resources have a direct influence on individual outcomes for children as they navigate environmental and geographical factors along with social processes.
For BRHP families navigating a new community, access to diverse resources in opportunity areas opens the doors to valuable experiences, positive relationships, and new opportunities that foster brighter futures for their children.
This month, BRHP used our social media channels and participant bulletin to spotlight youth resources available to families in our service area while also sharing the importance of youth engagement initiatives. These efforts build on a year of successful youth engagement initiatives, including our Activities for Child Enrichment (ACE) program, which we provided to families last fall as a stipend to pursue and participate in activities, extracurriculars, and other vital programs. Our Summer Camp Assistance program also sent 51 children to summer camp for one week, and our annual Back-to-School Supply Drive is expected to give over 750 bookbags and school supplies to children in the program to help them start the school year prepared and ready to learn.
With resources and programs that couple things like social peer engagement, vital developmental resources, role models, and individual leadership, youth not only thrive, but they also develop the toolkit they need to succeed in life.
You can find a list of some of the youth resources and activities in our service area below:
Best for: youth looking for summer jobs or career exploration
- Career Resources | Anne Arundel County Public Schools – Anne Arundel County Public Schools website lists career resources such as the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation, the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation, and the Fort Meade Alliance.
- Youth Services | Baltimore City – Baltimore City Youth Services offer resources and opportunities for youth such as summer employment and year-round training to help them achieve their personal career goals.
- Youth Services | Baltimore County Government – Baltimore County’s Youth Services Unit provides support for programs that engage eligible young people by providing education, training, counseling, and work-based learning opportunities.
- CARROLL WORKS! YOUTH PROGRAM – Carroll County Workforce Development – Carroll County’s youth workforce program provides youth with career development resources and job training such as apprenticeships and summer youth employment.
- Workforce Development Opportunities for Youth | Howard County – The Office of Workforce Development works with youth in Howard County to help them identify and prepare their educational and career goals.
Best for: teens seeking peer support or mental health resources
- Youth Development Services | Anne Arundel County Community Action Agency, Inc – The Coordinated Community Supports Partnership Program is a collaborative initiative between the Community Action Agency and Annapolis Middle School, designed to provide comprehensive behavioral health support to students and families throughout the school year and summer.
- Youth Support Group | Anne Arundel County Health Department – The Anne Arundel County Health Department offers a virtual free support group for youth aged 12-17. The groups are safe, judgement free, and welcoming, designed for the unique challenges faced by youth.
- Baltimore City Youth Resource Guide – The Baltimore City Youth Action Board provides youth with resources for mental health services, workforce and development training, recreation, and more.
Best for: middle and high school students interested in leadership or mentoring
- Baltimore Youth Master Plan – BCYF – The Baltimore Youth Master Plan provides youth with the opportunity to make their voices heard. Youth are engaged across events, surveys, and gather dinners to help develop youth resources in Baltimore.
Best for: families looking for after-school recreation or enrichment
- Recreation Activity Centers | Baltimore County Government – Baltimore County’s Recreation Activity Centers offer after-school, fitness, sports, and hobby programming.
- Westminster Youth Project in Carroll County – The Westminster Youth Project provides a space for youth to access resources as they navigate adolescence.
- Youth Programs | Harford Community College – Harford Community College offers diverse enrichment classes and programs ranging from driver education, teen job prep, academic test prep, sports training and more.
- Empower4Life in Baltimore and Harford County – Empower4Life provides youth in the community with educational programs, resource distribution, and community youth empowerment.
- Drop-In Program – Columbia Association – The Youth & Teen Center Drop-In Program offers a variety of educational, enrichment and recreational opportunities that support 6th through 12th graders.
Opportunity areas with rich resources that focus on career and educational development, mental health, self-empowerment, and learning life skills are crucial to the positive upward mobility that is at the heart of the Baltimore Housing Mobility Program. As we connect our families and their children to diverse resources in their new communities, we see the improved outcomes that come from engaging in programs that motivate them to their full capabilities, foster success, and pour into the next generation.
Written by: Savanah Winn, Communications Associate