UTICA —
As part of a push to help at-risk youth, the Utica United party wants to open a teen center in each of the city's six wards.During a press conference on Thursday, the party announced it planned to team with Utica Youths and Families to help at-risk youth by providing them with centers for life skills and counseling.Titled the Vacant Property Teen Initiative, the idea is to buy homes through the Urban Renewal Agency, rehab them and work with local non-profits to find staffs to work the centers, said Bruce Martin, co-founder of Youth & Families.“One of the things we're looking to do is to extend our services to this organization,” he said. “To get them into a positive environment, to get them out of a negative area.”
The program will cost money but is worth it compared to the savings it brings the taxpayers by re-directing at-risk youth, said at-large candidate Sonia Martinez “The program is going to cost about $400,000,” she said. “In Utica's Latino community our youth have been suffering from a lack of role models. It will show the youth of Utica you can have a plan and follow it to fruition. Isn't that the American dream?”The funding picture and who will run the centers is unclear but the program could use a mix of existing tax dollars and grants according to organizers.
The program will cost money but is worth it compared to the savings it brings the taxpayers by re-directing at-risk youth, said at-large candidate Sonia Martinez “The program is going to cost about $400,000,” she said. “In Utica's Latino community our youth have been suffering from a lack of role models. It will show the youth of Utica you can have a plan and follow it to fruition. Isn't that the American dream?”The funding picture and who will run the centers is unclear but the program could use a mix of existing tax dollars and grants according to organizers.
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