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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Emma, Social Work Intern at Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, on YouthBuild Program
5:52:49
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94 sec
Emma, a Social Work intern at Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, testifies about the value of the YouthBuild program in serving students who have dropped out of traditional schools, particularly during COVID. She highlights the program's focus on individual attention, social-emotional learning, and career support for students facing various challenges.
- YouthBuild serves as a social safety net for students with diverse backgrounds, including court-involved youth, teen parents, and houseless youth.
- The program offers small class sizes, social work caseworkers, free therapy, and career exploration tools.
- Emma requests support for YouthBuild to help students achieve their aspirations, which range from entrepreneurship to technical careers.
Emma
5:52:49
Thank you, Finance Committee and Chair Stevens.
5:52:52
My name is Emma.
5:52:53
I'm a Masters of Social Work intern with the YouthBuild program at Nimnich, Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation.
5:53:01
I grew up in Washington Heights and now I get the chance to serve my neighborhood and give back.
5:53:07
I'm speaking
Justin L. Brannan
5:53:09
to
Emma
5:53:09
you today about the value of the Youth Build program.
5:53:12
Our students are pursuing high school equivalency after traditional schools have failed them.
5:53:18
And right now, in particular, we are serving students who dropped out of school during COVID.
5:53:24
We are a social safety net for students with nowhere else to turn.
5:53:29
Our students are court involved, teen parents, houseless youth, orphaned, and face many other obstacles that they are working to overcome.
5:53:38
YouthBuild offers an invaluable alternative to traditional schooling, most notably our small class sizes that allow for the individual attention our students need.
5:53:50
We focus on classroom content but also heavily on social and emotional learning.
5:53:55
Every student has a social work caseworker the opportunity to enroll in free regular therapy and career exploration tools.
5:54:05
The students I work with have big dreams from opening a chain of hair salons to becoming a software engineer to becoming a union electrician.
5:54:15
I'm asking today that you give YouthBuild the tools to support these amazing students' big dreams.
5:54:23
Thank you.