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Meet EARS! Programs & Youth Leaders 2015
- 1. EARS (Effective Alternatives in Reconciliation Services) “Young People Going Places” Exceptional Trainers & Facilitators Serving Youth & Adults Since 1989
- 2. EARS Youth and Adult Trainers EARS has been providing nationally recognized peer mediation, conflict resolution, restorative practices and youth development services to young people, school-based staff, social workers, parents and guardians in New York City for 30 years.
- 3. Bronx Youth Face Uphill Battle Although the economy and opportunities in the Bronx are improving, young people still face many challenges: • 40% of the children live below the federal poverty level • Bronx youth have the lowest high school graduation rate in the City , at 59% • Only 11% of those who graduate earn a Bachelors degree • 58% of homeless youth are from the Bronx
- 4. Peer Mediation Program EARS Teen Trainers leading student mediation training
- 5. Specially Trained EARS Facilitators Ages 12 – 21 Help Peers Learn Vital Skills EARS Trainers and Facilitators have led the 18 hour skills-based mediation training for peers Citywide since 1989. EARS Trainers are role models for their peers – they attended the same high schools, live in the same neighborhoods and struggle with the same peer pressures as the participants. EARS Trainers have provided workshops for their peers in foster care, schools, youth organizations and with youth 13 – 15 who are incarcerated. EARS Trainers graduate high school and many go on to college. Others have started their own businesses.
- 6. EARS Trainers Provide Workshops for Adults EARS Clients include: • The U.S. Department of State’s Visiting Leaders Program: Youth Empowerment Skills • The Bronx District Attorney’s Office of Community Affairs: The Many Faces of Sexual Assault • EPIC Parent Training: Bullying Prevention Skills & Strategies • NYC Dept. of Education: Respect for All Initiative: Bullying Prevention and LGBTQ Training for School-based Staff and Administrators
- 7. What We Teach & Why We Teach It Mediation Skills are Life Skills • Understanding Conflict • Different Points of View • Active Listening • Effective Communication • Defusing a Conflict • Neutral Language • Open Questions • Think Before We Speak or Act
- 8. Beyond Mediation: Restorative Practices EARS has been using restorative practices since 1999 Restorative Justice Practices serve as a natural step beyond mediation for addressing many issues in a deeper fashion. Addressing harm done with all parties involved – the target, their supporters, the aggressor and their supporters, authority figures, community members – can truly mend emotional wounds for all. EARS also uses restorative circles for: Staff Meetings and Training Student Meetings and Training Youth Development Work Teambuilding
- 9. The Best of Youth & Adult Teamwork Respect Trust Empowerment EARS adults respect the abilities and possibilities of young people. EARS adults trust young people to respond to high standards EARS adults empower young people with skills to “really run things” Unparalleled Youth Empowerment Opportunities
- 10. What YOUNG PEOPLE have to Say about EARS… • EARS saw something in me that I did not see in myself. • EARS gave me the confidence to go from crack baby in foster care to successful entrepreneur earning over $100,000 per year. • I found my voice at EARS. I haven’t stopped using it yet! • When I was 15 and my supervisor was 18, I knew I was going to be somebody. • At EARS, young people really run things. • EARS is like a second family to me, like having 20 sisters and 20 brothers you can count on.
- 11. EARS Youth Empowerment Through Training and Conflict Management www.Earsbronx.com [email protected]