A New Day for Clubs in Public Housing

A lot has changed since 1954, when two rooms of “community space” in Bethlehem, Pa., became the very first public housing-based Boys & Girls Club. Today, there are more than 400 Clubs serving public housing communities, with more to come.

One thing has not changed across the years: the acute need that youth in public housing have for a Boys & Girls Club. Low-income backgrounds, crime, single-parent households and a lack of positive recreational opportunities combine to make Clubs a welcome – and effective – presence in public housing.

Studies have shown that Clubs in public housing result in less vandalism and drug dealing, and better academic performance among impacted youth. Research also indicates that, with enhanced support, residents can be expected to enjoy significantly lower rates of obesity, better mental health, and higher rates of employment and earnings.

Earning Community Trust

What began as a sports program to keep young people out of harm’s way has turned into a full-fledged Boys & Girls Club in a troubled neighborhood of East Fort Worth, Texas.

“The demand for services was so pronounced that the housing authority offered a vacant apartment to the Club,” says Daphne Barlow, president of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Fort Worth. “Soon the demand became so great that the apartment simply overflowed into the street each day with kids eager for the Club.” Violence in the community was so severe that daily drive-by shootings and weekly homicides were regular occurrences. Recognizing the Club’s ability to help and the community’s outcry for expanded services, the local housing authority built a new facility, known as the J.A. Cavile unit. A year later, Club teens from Cavile became the first from their area to graduate high school – ever.

Crediting the Boys & Girls Club with transforming the Cavile community, the local public housing authority asked the organization to open another unit in the Butler Public Housing neighborhood in 1995. That unit took over the fieldhouse of a neighborhood school, helping the community become much less isolated, both socially and geographically, from mainstream society.

A Stable Environment

They may live amid our nation’s most beautiful scenery, but kids growing up near Indian lands in Montana have their own challenges. As is the case in many Native American communities, the youth of Great Falls contend with high rates of suicide, meth addiction, alcoholism and academic failure.

People living in Great Falls’ public housing are constantly looking for work, yet long to return to their Indian reservation, 100 miles away. “When these families move to and from the reservation, they tend to not hold down a job for long,” says Sonya Smith, executive director at the Boys & Girls Clubs of North Central Montana.

Seeing the instability faced by young people in Great Falls, a committee of community leaders generated startup grants to open a Boys & Girls Club. The Club’s first major program was geared toward youth most in danger of dropping out of school. Compiling a list of kids whose grades were suffering, Club staff offered after-school tutoring to those at-risk.

Asked why the Club works so well, Smith emphasizes its diverse, caring professionals. “Our kids always say they come here for the staff,” she notes. “Given our large Native American population, we recognize the importance of tradition. Knowing this makes connecting with young people that much easier.”

	Proof Positive A recent survey of Boys & Girls Club alumni by Harris Interactive shows that Boys & Girls Clubs continue to have both an immediate and long-lasting impact on their lives. Key findings include: 57% of alumni said their Club saved their life. 67% of Club alumni attribute their ability to avoid difficulty with the law to the influence of Club staff. 61% became more committed to their education because of Boys & Girls Clubs. 92% said that helping others is a priority of theirs.