Common Ground for Youth
Timothy enrolled in our Youth Program last spring. Timothy had never participated in a structured afterschool program prior to his enrollment. At the time of his enrollment, his grandfather died. His Grandfather meant the world to him. Timothy received a lot a nurturing, guidance, wisdom, and supervision from his grandfather. His death was very traumatic and Timothy did not cope well afterwards and he began to skip school. He missed more than ten days and was unable to advance to the next grade in school. He then attended remedial summer school, but he continued to skip classes. During this time we provided him counseling services with psychology student externs who work at Chicago Commons and provided homework help and bus fare. Timothy still missed to many days to graduate from the summer session and had to repeat eight grade. During the beginning of the academic school year we met with Timothy's Mom & teachers. We developed a plan to ensure that he minimize his absenteeism. We provided Timothy with bus cards, counseling, and homework assistance. He also became involved in a newsletter writing project at Chicago Commons. Suddenly, his attitude towards his school work changed. His relationship with the writing project instructor, a male role model, was instrumental in his transformation. He became excited by the newsletter and his ability to write on topics of his choosing. He developed a mentoring relationship with the instruction. The mentor relationship and writing project that caught his interest provided Timothy with the motivation needed to successfully complete the eight grade. He is now an honors student at Taft High School