Highlighting America’s 100 Best Communities for Young People
The 100 Best Communities for Young People competition honors outstanding efforts on behalf of young people by multiple sectors of communities. In cities, suburbs, small towns and counties across the country, this annual competition is leading communities to assess their efforts, work more effectively together for young people, and share best practices. Each week one of the 2007 100 Best Communities will be highlighted in the America’s Promise Bulletin and on our web site.
Long Beach, California
By Cynthia Hobgood
Located on the Pacific Ocean, Long Beach, California is the fifth largest city in the state, and home to more than 125,000 children. A scenic downtown and waterfront marina feature the retired Queen Mary ocean liner and the Aquarium of the Pacific, enhancing the community with educational programs for both resident children and youth as well as for visitors.
Long Beach’s goal is to be a community of neighborhoods focused on youth and education, with safety and economic opportunity for all, and a responsive, accountable government, in a healthy environment.
Government, schools, nonprofits, business and community are working together to make that goal a reality and ensure that all children have the Five Promises and families have high quality resources are available to them.
Youth themselves play a vital role in the Long Beach area, with the city engaging youth in decision making that affects them. The city has appointed youth to a city commission and given them the opportunity to participate in a quality youth leadership program, youth advisory councils at the city council district level, and youth leadership institute.
Some of the initiatives of Long Beach that led to its selection as one of 100 Best Communities for Young People include:
Commission on Youth and Children (CYC):
Serves as an overarching, standing body that advises the Mayor and City Council members on matters that affect the well-being of the City’s youth population. The CYC consists of nine youth and 10 adults, each representing specific sectors of youth expertise.
Youth Opportunity Center (YOC):
A center designed to provide work-readiness training and employment-related services to youth, aged 14-24. Services include internet-connected computers, and youth development programs academic assistance remediation, assistance returning to school, and access to post-secondary education.
Winners Reaching Amazing Potential (WRAP):
A publicly funded citywide after school program on school campuses and at the community locations, keeping kids safe a minimum of three hours per day, five days per week, year round. Parks, Recreation and Marine operates over 60 programs during out-of-school time, including summer camps, teen centers, after school programs and 3 Police Athletic Leagues (PAL) programs.
Safehouse Program:
Run through the Fire Department, the program designates 18 fire stations as safe places of refuge for children that may be in need of help as they travel from one location to another. Special phones are affixed to the front of each of fire station, which connect to the Fire Communications Center.
Seamless Education Initiative:
Connecting K-12 students with community college and the local university, the City's Workforce Development Board, through Youth Council, Conservation Corps of Long Beach and the Federal Job Corps located within the City.
Long Beach has shown a willingness to respond to the challenges facing its youth. As an urban area with a population of more than 460,000, Long Beach has encountered socio-economic challenges in some areas of the city, leading to overcrowded conditions. As a result, some children must be bussed away from their neighborhood to a less crowded school, preventing many of them from being able to participate in after school campus programs. In response to the situation, the Conservation Corps of Long Beach partnered with Grace United Methodist Church to offer an after school enrichment program specifically for the bussed students. Long Beach continues to earn its right to be called one of our nation’s 100 Best Communities for Young People.