YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM
Many communities do not have activities promoting leadership, personal development, and employment readiness for youth. It is our belief that we should provide youth with support to be successful leaders among their peers. We understand that many youth seek support in dealing with family or social issues. Some youth depends upon their peers to gain problem-solving skills in these areas. The skills they obtain from peer support can often lead to further issues because of their dependency upon others who lack training on leadership and emotional intelligence.
Through the provision of a positive support system, Academic Research Solutions, Inc. teaches and promotes positive self-esteem, effective communication, boundary setting, and pro-social conflict management so youth can work towards building a successful future. We developed an intervention program that can help to promote pro-social life skill development that can help youth to promote leadership skills, emotional intelligence, and positive social support systems for their peers. Participants can have the ability to grow to become youth leaders within their home, school, and community.
We understand that the breakdown of the familial and/or social structures of many youth can cause some of them to internalize their emotions. Research has proven that internalization of emotions can become a potential hindrance to healthy emotional development. Internalization of emotional problems can result in the youth's inability to effectively communicate problems, issues, and/or concerns. Ineffective communication skills can cause frustration that can lead to further conflict in the youth's environment.
Through the support of parents, educators, and mental health professionals, we endeavor to build the village that will support youth in their ability to achieve academic, personal, and professional development that promotes success! We would like to work with youth to learn effective communication skills and critical thinking skills that will help them to learn how to deal with problems, resolve issues, and address their concerns. Collaboration with important figures in the youth's life to promote communication and emotional support is essential to healthy emotional maturity and overall academic and personal development.
Program Objectives
The goal of the program is to prevent or address any disruption in the natural developmental process of youth through the provision of leadership and life skills development. The program objectives are to:
1. Promote attitude and behavior awareness to address those problematic attitudes and behaviors that impacts the youth ability to discover their potential and avoid conflict.
2. Assist the youth in they discovery of their gifts, talents, and abilities to direct their focus towards their future.
3. Assist youth in the discovery of how to utilize or apply their gifts, talents, and abilities.
4. Instruct youth on the importance of setting goals and the implementation of a plan.
5. Promote educational and vocational opportunities that will provide youth with the opportunity to develop leadership skills.
6. Promote the discussion and application of setting and adhering to personal boundaries.
7. Promote the ability to make quality decisions about those whom they interact with in their academic or social environments.
8. Promote the youth's ability to overcome their fear of failure through self-reflection.
9. Promote the youth's ability to develop healthy relationships.
Program Outline
The ARS-YEP program is designed for the academic, community, and forensic setting. It is comprised of six segments. Classes are 90-minute sessions.
All books and materials are included:
Academic Life Coaching
This initial coaching class provides a foundational basis for supporting youth in building their confidence in their ability to implement the executive functioning skills necessary to achieve academic and personal development. Students will learn about working memory, planning and prioritization, organization, time management, and metacognition (self-awareness). They will learn how these skills influence their ability to exercise response inhibition, emotional control, sustained attention, task initiation, goal-directed persistence, and flexibility.
Self-'DISCovery
Based on the DISC Model of Human Behavior, this class allows the youth to learn about personality and human behavior. This class begins with a general understanding of personality characteristics and progresses to allowing the youth to learn about their own personality type. They gain insight into how their personality influences their behavior and the behavior of others in various environments. They learn the value of all personality types and the best methods of balancing personality characteristics so they can optimize their relationship with others.
Promoting Your Potential Through Setting Goals
Participants are introduced to the discovery of their gifts, talents, and abilities. They learn the importance of setting goals to accomplish their dreams. Students learn the importance of learning about those attitudes and behaviors that promote or hinder the successful achievement of their goals.
Overcoming Self-Destructive Thinking
Literature and activities grounded upon Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, participants learn about the cause-and-effect relationship of problematic thinking. Participants will learn of their need to consider how their thought patterns correspond with their behavioral tendencies. They will learn how they can convert self-destructive thinking patterns into positive thinking that produces positive results.
Developing Emotional Intelligence to Promote Healthy Relationships
Communication is important to building healthy relationships. Youth will learn internal and external motivations influencing the personality and communication styles of family members and their peers. Youth will learn the "Rules of Engagement" in conflict management and conflict resolution. Youth will learn how to avoid conflict mismanagement by learning the proper manner of dealing with issues. They learn how to strengthen relational bonds through respect of differences and an understanding of the motivations, perceptions, ideas, and/or desires of others.
Personal Boundaries and Overcoming Offenses
This class summarizes the information from previous classes to help youth to develop, maintain, and uphold personal boundaries and the boundaries of others. Students will learn how to overcome personal offenses that can promote the internalization of emotions that can be a stumbling block in the emotional health of the student.
The Battle of the Bulge Begins in the Mind
This health and wellness class teaches the basic principles of nutrition, fitness, and mental health. Students learn how their personality, mood, and behavior influences their approach to food and exercise. Youth will participate in classroom instruction and physical activity to promote wellness.
Program Cost
Participants may register - $150 a month
Program Class Days
2023-2024 Start date: August 19, 2023
Option 1: Saturday - 9:30 am to 11:00 am
Option 2: Thursday - 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm