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.
Santa Clarita, California
By Christopher Epps
Located 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles, this 100 Best community has carved its niche as one of California’s top cities. Touting the lowest unemployment rate in Los Angeles County, Santa Clarita “employs” its resources to develop a safe, supportive and encouraging environment for its youth.
Recognizing that sometimes a solid financial backing is necessary, the city sponsors the Santa Clarita Valley Resource Center, an organization that helps agencies search for potential grants for their organization. The center is a valuable resource to local nonprofit and community service organizations as it provides training, grant writing workshops and networking forums, in addition to hosting workshops to assist agencies in board development, fundraising, marketing and volunteer management.
Created from a union of several previously existing communities, Santa Clarita is celebrating its second decade as a city. To help its young residents stay active, the city decided to design and develop a secure, supportive and active environment. As a result, children and families have more than 2,400 acres of open space available to roam, play and exercise. In fact, 30 miles of “paseos,” or traffic-free pathways linking pedestrians, bikes riders and others to schools, parks and shopping areas, were created.
Other initiatives that led to this city winning recognition as a 100 Best community include:
ACTION Family Counseling, Inc.:
ACTION is a treatment program designed to address the needs of adolescents, adults and their families surrounding chemical dependency and mental health issues. Among its many services, one program that has proven to be extremely helpful is the Ranch, a residential treatment program allowing residents to participate in weekly individual family sessions, as well as multi-family therapy groups.
Anti-Gang Task Force:
Founded over 15 years ago, this organization made up of community members, school personnel, law enforcement and volunteers, helps young people disassociate with or stay out of gangs by using in-school intervention programs. The task force’s programs help build self-esteem, provide direction and develop life skills in youth, and also raise awareness on preventative measures and gang related issues.
Bowman High School:
An alternative school for students at-risk of dropping out, Bowman is one of the state’s Model Continuation High Schools. Bowman’s basic curriculum includes personalized instruction, a work-study program and intensive guidance and counseling.
Because Santa Clarita places great emphasis on the family, the city works to ensure that the psychological well-being of the family unit is nurtured. The Governing Board of the Child and Family Center’s (CFC) Client Services Committee comprehensive prevention offers early intervention, diagnostic evaluation and therapeutic services to families who live in the community. While this partnership has provided staff with many networking opportunities, it has also given the city the opportunity to collect useful data on trends in the area, resulting in increased awareness of and enrollment in a regularly scheduled parenting class.