1. MAY 5, 201610 • evanston RoundTable
BY LARRY GAVIN
The City has more than 2,000 at-risk youth and young
adults between the ages of 18 and 26, says Kevin Brown,
who has overseen the City’s Youth and Young Adult Divi-
sion for the past five years. Since his arrival, that Division
has hired six outreach workers and has ramped up its
efforts to reach out to at-risk youth and young adults, and
to provide them services to meet their needs, often in part-
nership with other agencies and community organizations.
An important part of the outreach program is to stem
violence in the community by connecting young adults
with job opportunities and other supports and mediating
disputes.
In the last four years, the Division has served 685
youth and young adults between the ages of 14 and 26,
not counting those served in the summer jobs program.
The vast majority, or 617 of the Division’s clients, were
between the ages of 18 and 26.
While the focus has been the 18-26 age group, the
Division has been reaching back to youth in their middle
school years in an effort to change their trajectory. One
key part of that effort is the Mayor’s Summer Youth Em-
ployment Program, managed by Porschia Davis, assistant
program coordinator. Last summer, 550 youth, ages 14-
18, obtained summer jobs through the program, and 100
of those received year-round jobs.
That is a four-fold increase in four years, Mr. Brown
told the RoundTable. “That’s going to change a whole
generation of kids.”
The Target Group
“When we talk about at risk or opportunity youth,
we’re talking about young people who are not perform-
ing well in school academically, or who are not being
fed properly so they don’t have the right kind of nutri-
tion, or who have lost interest in school and have a high
absentee rate or have dropped out of school, or who are
out of work, unemployed and who need something to do
positively, or who don’t have mentors or come from an
environment where they aren’t getting the kind of nurtur-
ing that they need to develop successfully, or who have
been involved with the criminal justice system.
“Some youth go to school hungry, some face violence
in their homes, some do not have homes. Some have post-
traumatic stress,” said Mr. Brown.
Only nine of the young adults served have a college
diploma and only 51 have attended some college, “so they
are in need of additional training in order to be able to get
a decent job, so that’s an educational need that all these
people have,” Mr. Brown said. Virtually all of the young
adults have had challenges in securing employment or
keeping it.
The Division’s clients are not engaged in criminal
activity, Mr. Brown said, but they are around it. “The
percent who may be at risk of a gang life-style is at least
50% of the people we’re encountering. It could be a little
higher.”
About 80 to 85% of the youth and young adults have
experienced “real trauma” and show evidence of post-
traumatic stress, he added. Many of the youth know
people who have been killed or shot and live in neighbor-
hoods where shootings have occurred and where shots are
fired. Some are victims of violence, racism or sexism, or
City's Youth and Young Adult Division Provides Job
Opportuties and Other Services, Reduces Violence
are victims of mistaken police stops. Some are
stressed because of the lack of stable housing,
poor nutrition, or the lack of mental health and
health care services, he said.
Continuing research has found that trauma
can impact a youth’s ability to concentrate in a
classroom and to focus on learning, and have a
profound impact on their lives.
Reaching Out and Building Trust
An important part of each outreach worker's
job is to identify potential clients through school
and agency referrals and through street outreach
– by visiting local hang-outs, community centers
and recreation centers, said Mr. Brown.
If a youth decides to participate in the pro-
gram, the outreach worker works with the youth
to figure out what the youth’s needs are, and then
develops a program to meet those needs. These
services may be provided by another member of
the outreach team or by partnering organizations,
but the outreach worker who made the initial con-
tact remains the point person and keeps in regular
contact with the youth or young adult.
“Building trust with youth is very, very im-
portant and a very intrinsic part of our program
and what we do on a daily basis,” said Nathan
Norman, outreach worker supervisor.
“One of the ways we build trust is we go
where the youth and young adults are. We don’t
just wait for the clients to come to us. We go to
the clients.
“We have strong ties to the community of
Evanston which, I believe, strengthens our posi-
tion in the community,” continued Mr. Norman.
“They know us and we know them. We know
their families. Many of us have experiences with
some of the same challenges and difficulties
that our clients face. So they know that we’re
not speaking to them from a text book point of view, but
we’re actually speaking from experience.
“One of the first things I ask an individual when I
approach them is, ‘How is it that they think that we can
help them?’ Because from the outside looking in I could
think of ways in which I could possibly help them. But
we have to have the people facing these issues and chal-
lenges tell us what are some of their needs, what are some
of the ways we can help them, so they’re involved in that
process,” said Mr. Norman.
Maurice Wilkerson, an outreach worker who special-
izes in workforce development and job placement, said,
“This group [the outreach team] is all from Evanston,
born and raised. We’ve seen high school students and
middle school students as they’ve grown up. They’ve
seen us as they grow up. … We’re here to really help our
community. I’m in the same shoe store. I’m in the same
grocery store. I’m shooting around the same gym. They
don’t see us just 9 to 5, and we’re disappearing. After 5,
I’m in the community.”
“We’ve been through some of these challenges that
kids are going through so we understand where they’re
coming from,” said Jermey McCray, an outreach worker
and supervisor of the summer employment program. “We
build a very close relationship with every kid we come
across or every adult and that’s the key. You’ve got to
figure out a way to be close with the client you’re working
with and figure out their needs because they don’t want to
tell you all the bad.”
Stacey Moragne, an outreach worker who specializes
in expunging or sealing criminal records, said, “I work
closely not only with the kids, but also the parents. … If
the parents trust you, the kids trust you. It’s monumental
to repair the head of the household. … I basically focus on
building an honest relationship, giving it to them straight
and building trust allows them to open up about intimate
things.”
“We meet all our clients and participants where
they’re at,” said Lachisa Barton, an outreach worker
who oversees the after-school program at Mason Park.
Sometimes you have to adjust the way of doing business
for each individual client.” For kids, “We come to them
Please see next page
Recognitions
Family Focus Evanston presented Kevin Brown,
Manager of the City’s Youth and Young Adult Divi-
sion, with its Individual Who Made a Difference award
on April 30. “I am honored and humbled to receive”
the award, said Mr. Brown. “I share this award with
the phenomenal Youth and Young Adult Division staff.
They are an awesome group, and without them, there
would be no recognition. I also thank Mayor Tisdahl,
the Evanston City Council and the leadership team at
the City of Evanston. I love this community and will
continue to do everything in my power to serve the
citizens well.”
Porschia Davis, Assistant Manager of the City’s
Youth and Young Adult Program, was recently selected
as one of Chicago Scholars’ 35 under 35 Young Lead-
ers Making an Impact. Ms. Davis is also actively
involved in The Posse Foundation, LINK Unlimited
Scholars and Step Up to help foster growth in inner-
city youth. The 35 Under 35 Awards were created to
recognize diverse, talented young professionals mak-
ing an impact in the Chicago community.
Stacey Moragne is the 2014 recipient of the “Com-
munity Achievement Award” presented by the UIC
Jane Adams College of Social Work.
From left, first row, Porschia Davis and Lachisa Barton; second
row, Kylette Lindsey; third row Kevin Brown and Nathan Nor-
man; top row: Maurice Wilkerson, Jermey McCray, and Stacey
Moragne. Photo from City of Evanston
RoundTable series: Reaching Out to Opportunity Youth
and Young Adults. Evanston has many youth and young
adults who lack high school or college degrees, lack
jobs and job opportunities, or who need help in improv-
ing their life chances. Some have been drawn into the
criminal justice system. A number of dedicated people and
organizations here are working 24/7 to reach out to these
youth and young adults and to enhance their opportuni-
ties and lives. Part 1 in this series looks at the work being
done by the City’s Youth and Young Adult Division.

2. MAY 5, 2016 evanston RoundTable • 11
at their own level, and we build relationships with them
that last over time. We follow them through adulthood, so
we’re not just leaving them after they get out of middle
school and they go to high school.”
Addressing Needs Holistically
“The nature of street outreach work is to work in a
holistic manner,” said Mr. Brown. “Typically clients have
multiple and complex needs. … So a person may have
five needs and may be homeless, they may have substance
abuse, they may have a criminal history, they may have
kids that need childcare support. So what the outreach
worker does is look at the outreach workers as a team,
and figures out what we can do to address those particular
issues. I may be able to address three of those needs, but
then I know that Maurice Wilkerson specializes in work-
force development and job placement, so I can go to him
and say, ‘Mr. Jones needs a job. What resources are going
to be available?’”
“We also work with the parents of our clients to
provide wrap-around supports,” said Mr. Norman. “We
work with community partners like Y.O.U., which has
outreach workers as well, so we connect with them to
share information. We work with the Moran Center which
is involved with juvenile justice. We work with the Youth
Job Center, with whom we have a career pathways pro-
gram for individuals who are 18-26 years old and who are
looking for some sort of career.”
Each outreach worker manages approximately 40
youth or young adults, said Mr. Brown. Clients will
usually stay on their rolls until the clients’ goals are
reached. The more intense the need, the longer they stay
on as active. Some may just need a job and housing and
they are ready to move on. Others may require mental
health services, and they could remain active longer.
Mr. Wilkerson described the team’s workforce devel-
opment. He said they have developed relationships with
more than 50 different employers, and placed more than
300 people with jobs.
The outreach team partners with many organizations to
develop job opportunities. For example, the team partners
with:
• Youth Job Center of Evanston to offer a 24-month job
readiness training program. After completing a two-week
training course, youth become interns in their choice of a
field, including health care, culinary arts, security guard,
automation, or pharmaceutical. Sixty-one youth have par-
ticipated in the program, and 53 have obtained permanent
employment.
• James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy to
expunge or seal their clients’ criminal records. “The ex-
pungement part is giving them an opportunity to reinvent
themselves and get an opportunity for employment,”
said Mr. Moragne. More Than 190 clients have had their
records sealed or partially sealed, and 27 have had their
records expunged.
• Mr. David’s Flooring, which has been successful in
the commercial flooring industry. After completing an
internship program, young men begin an apprenticeship
that can lead to becoming a unionized flooring installer
in four years. The outreach team has referred eight or
nine youth so far, and is getting ready to refer five more.
The company plans to hire additional residents on an “as
needed” basis, said Mr. Wilkerson.
• Northwestern University which has hired six young
adults to participate in a one-year internship at NU, in
which the young adults are taught skilled trade jobs,
which will enable them to maintain the facilities at NU or
elsewhere. After the internship, the interns may be hired
on a full-time basis. NU has committed to hire six Evan-
ston residents each year, said Mr. Wilkerson.
In addition, the team offers mental health support in
partnership with the Family Institute of Northwestern
University, the Chicago School of Professional Psychol-
ogy, the Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute for Mental Health
Education, and Evanston Township High School. The
Division has a relationship with Safe Haven, where clients
can receive treatment for drug addiction or alcohol abuse.
It works with McGaw YMCA which reserves some units
to provide housing for homeless clients. It sends clients to
Oakton Community College for job training.
Violence Interruption
“One thing the outreach team does that I think is im-
portant for the community to know is we are aggressively
engaged in a science of violence interruption,” said Mr.
Brown. The outreach workers work with “a whole group
of individuals who surround the hardcore people and who
could be drawn into that life, and we work very hard to
draw them away from that life.
“Our team has developed a reputation in the commu-
nity where a number of individuals who may be tempted
to engage in activities that they should not be engaged in
are approaching our staff and asking them for a way out.
We have not only in-town opportunities where we provide
paid work experiences, we also have relationships in Chi-
cago. We can send kids to job training experiences in six
different states. We have ways for individuals to improve
their lives if they are committed to change their lives,”
Mr. Brown said.
“We also started a violence interruption group where
we have gotten into the thick of gang violence in Evan-
ston,” said Mr. McCray. He said the outreach team has
met with people who are “playing with guns and fighting
… We’ve had about four groups where we’ve sat down
with these kids and kind of mended some problems that
have been going on, problems that were going to carry
over to someone being killed or someone being very hurt
or someone having to bury a family member.”
“We build solid enough relationships with kids who
would be considered in gangs or clichés that we are able
to help mediate truces or mediate agreements between
groups to help stem the tide of violence,” said Mr. Brown.
Mr. Norman added that they have at times invited
parents to the sessions. “We thought it was important and
very strategic to pull the parents in so that they will know
what type of action the youth were really getting involved
in. A lot of times, some of the parents are not aware
what’s going on with their child.”
“I think this group has been so important to this
community because we’ve kind of eased a lot of things
that probably would have happened if the outreach team
wasn’t around for it to happen,” said Mr. McCray.
Reducing Violence,
continued from previous page Summer Program
Last summer 43 employers attended the Mayor’s
Summer Youth Employment Program, and 550 youth,
ages 14-18, obtained summer jobs, said Porschia
Davis, who manages the program. One hundred youth
received year-round jobs.
“The Mayor’s Youth Summer Employment
Program is one of the most pivotal programs in my
opinion, that’s going to change a whole generation of
kids,” said Mr. Brown. “We’ve been very successful
in creating job opportunities. We’ve gone from 160
to over 550 job opportunities for young people in just
four years. Basically now, almost anyone between the
ages of 16 and 18 that wants to work can work. Some-
times it’s a little harder for 14 and 15 year olds, but
we still employ about 150 of those kids every year.”
Last summer, Porschia Davis started a pilot
program offering mental health support to summer
job youth in partnership with The Family Institute,
the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and
the Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute for Mental Health
Education. The program trained counselors on help
youth who were suffering from trauma. Because of its
success, the program has been expanded.
“Trauma is enough of an issue that we’ve tried
hard to incorporate a solution into the summer job
program,” said Mr. Brown.
After School in Mason Park
The Division is increasing its focus on middle and high
school youth. Ms. Barton manages an after-school pro-
gram for 14- and 15-year olds that was started this school
year at Mason Park. The program operates from 3 to 6
p.m., 29 youth are enrolled, and some additional youth
drop in. A summer program is being planned.
“Some of the issues that the youth are facing are
things like having a sense of belonging,” said Ms. Barton.
“Everybody wants to belong and be a part of something.
So having an outlet to come to this after-school program
where they feel safe, where they want to be every day, and
where they’re coming every day, they feel they’re part of
something. That way they don’t have to turn to the streets
and hang out and be part of the ongoing violence that
we’re dealing with here in Evanston.”
As part of the after-school program, staff brings the
youth to the MetaMedia Center at McGaw Y, to First
Presbyterian Church of Evanston for tutoring sessions, to
Literature for All of Us at Family Focus – “so they can get
a feel for other things going on in this community,” said
Ms. Barton.
The outreach team is also working with social work-
ers in the middle schools to connect with youth who are
“struggling a little bit in the classroom and outside,” said
Mr. Wilkerson. “We’re trying to engage them at a young
age in something positive so they can see something else.”
Bridging the Gap
Mr. Brown said what is happening in Evanston is not
unique. He said that kids are slipping through the cracks
across the country despite the resources that are avail-
able to them. He said what the outreach team has found
through its work is, “When we’re able to establish real
relationships, not through social media, but through au-
thentic relationships, it makes a difference.
“A mentor can be very effective in positively motivat-
ing and helping that person to develop,” said Mr. Brown.
Ms. Barton said, “The community needs to be open to
change, to bridging the generation gap, be open to listen-
ing to the youth. We have to teach our community to help
one another and give back and support one another.”
“Those who are genuinely interested should help,” said
Ms. Davis. “That would go a long way because people do
see when others genuinely care about them.”
Chicken and Waffles,
continued from page 3
Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, agreed. “The
problem here is that the [new] buyer [of the property] is
the victim if we do nothing,” she said. The City should
consider the loss taken on the Chicken and Waffles loan
“our contribution to a new business coming in” to Evan-
ston and generating “liquor tax, property taxes,” and other
economic development.
“We are all angry and disappointed with where we are
on this,” said Alderman Don Wilson, 4th Ward. He asked
that Mr. Farrar attempt to release the mortgage without
completely releasing the debt owed, keeping open the
possibility of trying to collect the debt from the Chicken
& Waffles owner, outside of the real estate closing.
Ald. Rainey said she thought any additional collec-
tion efforts would be a waste of time. The owner was a
separate corporate entity formed to own and operate the
restaurant, and that corporate entity is no longer in good
standing.
Ultimately, Ald. Wilson proposed a modified resolution
to “authorize and direct Corporation Counsel to attend the
sale and closing to release the mortgage in exchange for
a distribution of proceeds.” His resolution, he explained,
offered the City’s attorney the chance to negotiate at the
closing table and return with a check.
“I like the way you said it,” said Mayor Tisdahl. “Just
don’t come home without a check. That’s perfect.”
The measure passed 8-1, with only Ald. Miller voting
“no.”