When Lana Kostenko came to California from her native Kyiv, Ukraine, over a decade ago, she wanted to create a career in the center of the American tech industry. 

She worked for Apple and education tech firm Study.com and built a life for herself in San Francisco. Then, last year, everything changed. 

On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, razing cities, killing civilians and displacing millions of people.  

“It was weird doing market research for tech clients when I knew that bombs were exploding in Ukraine and I felt like I could actually do something,” Kostenko said. 

She began looking for ways to help her native country. This May, that impulse led Kostenko to become the managing director of ENGin—pronounced like “engine”—a nonprofit that has taken an unusual approach to shaping the future of Ukraine.

As the U.S. and European Union deliver military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, ENGin wants to equip the country on another front: Preparing the next generation of Ukrainians to communicate in English.

Most Americans may never have heard of ENGin, but according to Kostenko, the organization is growing exponentially. It has 16,000 volunteers, including around 500 in the Bay Area and around 3,000 in California.

And, in a time of extreme stress for Ukrainians, it has become a lifeline of normalcy during the war.

Something Other Than War

The idea for ENGin came about in 2020 when founder Ukrainian American Katerina Manoff was tutoring a Ukrainian high school student. 

She discovered that, although the girl had good grades in English, she struggled to speak it. Most of her instruction had focused on grammar and vocabulary but offered few opportunities to practice the language in real life.

According to the EF English Proficiency Index, Ukraine ranks near the bottom of the European region in terms of English abilities. So Manoff created ENGin to address that problem. 

The nonprofit matches young Ukrainians with fluent English speakers who are willing to donate an hour of their time per week to help their student partner improve their English.

Lana Kostenko displays a presentation that reads ‘Helping Ukraine Speak to the World’ at her home in San Francisco. | Source: Benjamin Fanjoy for The Standard

Last year, when Russia launched its invasion, the organization briefly halted operations and dedicated itself to raising money for refugees. 

But in April 2022, ENGin relaunched its tutoring program, reemerging in a world where many people were learning about Ukraine for the first time and wanted to help.

ENGin also found that, amid great uncertainty, its Ukrainian participants were looking forward to that one hour a week when they could talk with someone about something other than war.

“It’s now a safe haven,” Kostenko said.

Building Bridges—in Several Directions

Two of the people ENGin connected are Oleh Kandyba and Nandini Jayakumar. He’s a web designer based in Kyiv. She’s an immigrant from India who moved to the Bay Area in 2018. 

Kandyba had studied English in school and at college. But, without practice, he said, “it was like a dead skill.” 

Jayakumar was looking for places to volunteer when she stumbled on ENGin. She started out communicating with one Ukrainian. Now, she is tutoring five people.

Nandini Jayakumar, a volunteer with ENGin, poses for a photograph. | Source: Courtesy Nandini Jayakumar

“I have held several jobs, but this has been the most fulfilling and rewarding experience for me,” Jayakumar said.

Kandyba is equally happy with the experience.

“Nandini is so supportive [a] person,” he said in deliberate English. “It’s so interesting for me and gives me the power to learn English.”

Kandyba is also trying to teach Jayakumar about aspects of Ukrainian culture—the traditional cuisine, the acrobatic hopak folk dance and the Zaporizhian Sich, a Cossack proto-state that played an important role in Ukrainian history.

In turn, he has enjoyed learning about Jayakumar’s Indian culture and features of California, like its giant sequoias.

Oleh Kandyba, a participant in ENGin, wears a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt called a ‘vyshyvanka.’ | Source: Courtest Oleh Kandyba

Like most Ukrainians, the war has weighed heavily on Kandyba.

During the early days of Russia’s invasion, he packed food for Ukrainian defenders. An avid hiker, Kandyba also donated his sleeping bag and warm clothing to help soldiers weather the frost. 

He says many of his friends are fighting on the front line. Some have died in the war.

For now, life in Kyiv feels relatively normal. But with winter approaching, it’s not clear whether that will continue. 

This past winter, Russia launched missile and drone strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, causing widespread power outages and cutting the population off from heating amid freezing temperatures.

“I already told Nandini that maybe in the autumn or winter, it will be difficult to schedule our sessions,” Kandyba said.

Looking to the Future

Currently, ENGin serves around 35,000 people. But the organization has big goals for the future.

In the next five years, its aim is to increase that number to 100,000. It is also looking to create other programs that will connect Ukrainian doctors with other doctors or allow employees from major tech companies to share their experience with young Ukrainians. It already sells Ukrainian language lessons to fund its main operation.

For Kostenko, the organization’s managing director, the war has imbued the task of teaching English with new meaning.

In the past, teaching English meant correcting mistakes common to Ukrainian speakers: misused articles, “How do you think?” as opposed to “What do you think?” and oddball plurals like “many good news” or “many good advices.” And English was critical to helping Ukrainians build careers in the country’s much-feted tech industry. 

All that remains, but ENGin believes English will also be key to building Ukraine’s future after the war.

When the fighting eventually ends, international investment and financing will play a central role in rebuilding the country. 

Kostenko believes that young Ukrainians will need to be the ones making strategic decisions about its future and explaining them to the international community.

“We are not there yet,” Kosteno said, “but right now, ENGin is teaching this new generation of young Ukrainians to speak confidently in English.”

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On Saturday, August 19, from 12 to 2 pm, bring the whole family to a free “Family Day” event and come see what Sarasota Youth Opera is all about! The Sarasota Opera House will be abuzz with activities – you can hear the Youth Opera sing, attend a “Find Your Own Opera Voice” singing session, join in fun acting games, and stand on the opera stage when you take a tour of the opera house. You can even get creative and make some props, have fun at the wig and makeup demonstration, explore the beautiful costumes, and more!

This fall Sarasota Youth Opera will present Benjamin Britten’s The Little Sweep on the Sarasota Opera House stage, complete with professional sets, costumes, and orchestra. The opera tells the charming story about a group of children who join together to free a young chimney sweep apprentice from his cruel master and send him back to his family. 

The fall program starts up on August 15th, and auditions for the lead roles will be held on August 22 and 24.  No prior experience is necessary, all skill levels are welcome! To learn more about Youth Opera visit https://www.sarasotaopera.org/youth-opera-program.
 

What: Sarasota Youth Opera Family Day
When: Saturday, August 19, 2022, from 12 to 2 pm
Where: Sarasota Opera House: 61 N. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236
Tickets: This is a FREE event and no tickets are necessary. 

Details for the event can be found at Click Here

ABOUT SARASOTA YOUTH OPERA 

Since 1984, Sarasota Youth Opera has given thousands of young people ages 8 to 18 an opportunity to experience the joy of opera firsthand through participation in fully staged Youth Opera productions, Sarasota Opera main stage productions, summer camps, and concerts throughout the community.

Sarasota Youth Opera is the only program in the United States committed to both presenting an annual full-scale opera production for young voices, as well as accepting all who wish to participate regardless of skill level or ability to pay.
 

Youth Opera Choruses: Beginning at age 8, singers are placed in one of two chorus levels. Each chorus provides a setting for everyone to participate and progress at their own level as they gain greater skills and experience. Selections performed are made up of classical music, which includes opera and choral pieces in different languages. The choruses perform throughout the community in formal concerts and outreach events.
 

Opera Mainstage Season: Members of the Youth Opera are selected to join Sarasota Opera’s Winter Festival season, appearing in the mainstage children’s chorus, as supernumeraries (extras who perform non-singing roles) and for special roles written by the composer for children’s voices. In recent seasons these have included roles in La bohème, Tosca, and Carmen. Singers are involved in the complete production process – from early music and dramatic rehearsals to performing alongside opera professionals. 

Youth Opera Productions: Part of Sarasota Opera’s commitment to young people includes the commissioning of new operatic works written for children and young adults. Six new works have been presented as part of this mission: Deadline (1989), Polly Pen’s Her Lightness (1993), Tom Suta’s Eye of Ra (1998), John Kennedy’s The Language of Birds (2004), Daron Hagen’s Little Nemo in Slumberland (2012) and Rachel J. Peters’ Rootabaga Country (2017). Members take part in the making of each opera, complete with professional staging, costumes, lighting, sound, and orchestral accompaniment.

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The first landmark case relating to electronic cigarettes sold by Juul Labs began Monday in federal court in San Francisco.

Tom Cartmell, an attorney for the San Francisco Unified School District, explained in his opening statement to 11 jurors that Altria, Philip Morris’ parent company, which owns a 35% stake in Juul, provided the sales and distribution staff who to increase their e-cigarette sales, especially to children.

“This case is about Altria, our country’s largest cigarette company, which has helped hook a whole new generation of young people to nicotine, leading to a vape crisis, a youth epidemic and a vape crisis in schools,” claimed Cartmell of Wagstaff & Cartmell in Kansas City, Missouri.

“How did Altria do that?” Cartmell said. “Altria accomplished this by partnering with a startup vape company that had a highly addictive e-cigarette — an e-cigarette that Altria knew would appeal to and be attracted to young people, including children. Why did Altria do this? Money, plain and simple.”

Altria’s actions were reckless and negligent and caused a public nuisance in San Francisco schools.

Altria attorney Beth Wilkinson of Wilkinson Stekloff in Washington, DC, denied the existence of a partnership in her opening statement. She told jurors that sales declined six months after Altria acquired shares in Juul for $12.8 billion in December 2018.

Altria is interested in Juul because scientific studies show that electronic cigarettes are less harmful than tobacco cigarettes, she said.

“We think that in the end, if you look at all of this, you’re going to realize that Altria wasn’t trying to grow the youth nicotine market when they invested in Juul,” Wilkinson added. “They were trying to support a product that they thought would benefit smokers and be successful for them.”

“Full Nicotine”

The lawsuit is the second involving Juul’s e-cigarettes. A standalone trial between Juul and the Minnesota Attorney General’s office began March 28, but was settled confidentially just before jury deliberations this month.

The San Francisco Unified School District’s case is the first in interdistrict litigation before US District Judge William Orrick, who sits in the Northern District of California. Juul closed the case, leaving Altria as the sole defendant.

US District Judge William Orrick III, Northern District of California. Free photo.

In his opening statement, Cartmell told jurors that Altria bought its shares in Juul because cigarette smoking among adults and teenagers had declined. Altria was banned from advertising tobacco cigarettes to teenagers, but Juul’s product, which looked like a cool USB device that was easy to hide from parents and teachers, had particular appeal to kids, he said.

“Juul has everything it takes to attract and addict young people, including children,” he said. “It has sweet mint and fruit flavors. It’s a high-tech and cool design. It was marketed to appeal to the young popular cool crowd. And it’s full of nicotine.”

And despite some claims that e-cigarettes are safer than tobacco cigarettes, he said there’s no evidence Juul is safe for children.

In 2018, under pressure from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reduce appeal to children, Juul pulled most of its flavored products off the shelves. Only tobacco and mint flavors remained.

“Both Altria and Juul knew kids liked mint,” he said, “and keeping mint in the market wouldn’t help the teenage vape epidemic.”

“They wanted to control it”

But Wilkinson insisted that Juul, which needed FDA approval, had decided to withdraw its flavored products months before Altria’s involvement.

“That was one of the really big signals that Juul gave to regulators, the marketplace, and Altria: that they were trying to reverse and address the youth epidemic,” she said.

Beth Wilkinson, with Wilkinson Stekloff. Free photo.

Altria, meanwhile, was a competitor to Juul, which had failed to launch a successful electronic cigarette product of its own. Altria wanted to offer a product that would not expose its customers to tobacco smoke.

But its electronic cigarette product didn’t contain the more potent nicotine salts, and Juul’s did. Altria offered to buy a 51% stake in Juul, but the company declined the offer. In their final deal, Altria received no voting rights.

“They wanted to control it, they wanted to own it, and they couldn’t do that,” Wilkinson said.

Regarding the mint flavor remaining on the market, Wilkinson noted that the City of San Francisco had banned all flavored electronic cigarettes six months before Altria acquired the stake.

Juul this month reached a $462 million settlement with attorneys general from six states, including California, New York and Washington, DC Last year, Juul paid an estimated $1.7 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits filed by government agencies, individuals and criminals school districts like San Francisco Unified. As part of that agreement, Juul reached a $255 million class action settlement, which Orrick granted preliminary approval earlier this year for customers seeking economic damages.

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GRASS VALLEY, California – The Nevada County Continuum of Care in conjunction with Bright Futures for Youth’s SAFE program will conduct a survey Tuesday, May 9 through Thursday, May 11 to determine how many children and young adults in Nevada County suffer from housing instability, a growing but often overlooked problem in rural communities.

The organizations encourage young people aged 25 and under who are affected by homelessness to participate in the survey at the time of the youth census. The results could pave the way for more funding and services to address the problem in the community.

The Nevada County Continuum of Care, Community Beyond Violence and other organizations, as well as SAFE staff and Youth Action Committee members, will be available Tuesday, May 9 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m. at the San Juan Community Library Annex, 18847. available for meetings with young people at Oak Tree Road on North San Juan Ridge and 3-7 p.m. Wednesday, May 10 at the new SAFE Youth Drop-in Navigation Center at 200 Litton Drive in Grass Valley.

Also, a mobile effort will attempt to reach out to young people in high-traffic areas in Grass Valley and Nevada City from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, May 11.

The SAFE (Stability, Access, Foundation and Empowerment) Drop-in Center on May 10 will provide backpacks, gift cards, clothing and groceries for survey participants. SAFE staff can also help young people affected by homelessness access health services and counseling.

“It is critical that every single young person affected by housing instability is counted to better understand the broader problem in our community,” said Jennifer Singer, Executive Director of Bright Futures for Youth and Nevada County Board Member Continuum of Care. “Accurate census will help describe the need for more funding and services for children and youth facing housing instability.”

Homelessness among children and young adults ages 12 to 24 is a rapidly growing but often difficult to identify problem in rural areas where nature surrounds small towns and communities compared to nearby Sacramento and other large California cities are .

Also, the definition of “housing instability” can be a bit vague. Teens affected by homelessness often surf the web with family members or friends on the couch, live in hotels, sleep in a vehicle, or maybe even live in a shed or trailer with no electricity or plumbing — not just on the streets.

“You may not see people affected by homelessness the way you do in downtown Sacramento, San Francisco or Los Angeles, but housing instability is a very real and growing problem in Nevada County,” said Aurora Packard, program director for the SAFE program .

In fact, SAFE is currently helping around 120 young people affected by homelessness today – 10 times the target when the program started in 2019. SAFE case managers meet with about 50 of these youth each week, and an average of five others learn about the program over the same period.

However, how many children and young adults are homeless in Nevada County is uncertain, according to local officials.

The Youth Point-in-Time Count will provide a more accurate number while helping those facing housing instability access much-needed services. SAFE works with numerous governmental and nonprofit organizations in the community to ensure children and young adults receive the services they need.

Some youth affected by homelessness may need clothing or a hot meal, while others may need access to health care, counseling and shelter – or all of these services. The SAFE Drop-in Center also offers a place to charge smartphones, laundry services, showers, developing new skills, applying to college, financial aid, nutrition programs, or even job hunting.

“Youth affected by homelessness are often unaware of the services available,” said Phebe Bell, behavioral health director for Nevada County.

The Homeless Resource Council of the Sierra (HRCS), the leading organization in Nevada counties and placer continuum of care for homelessness, conducts an annual point-in-time survey each winter with the help of community organizations and volunteers. The latest poll found nearly 500 adults were homeless as of the night of Jan. 25, according to HRCS, down slightly from 525 a year earlier. The survey also identified 26 people under the age of 25 who slept outside, not with family or guardians.

But the closely monitored survey uses a much narrower definition of homelessness that undercounts youth experiencing homelessness.

“The Nevada County CoC is committed to data-driven decision making,” said Joe Naake, director of strategic operations at Hospitality House and chair of the Nevada County Continuum of Care teenagers are available in Nevada County.”

The Youth Point-in-Time Count connects children and young adults, a vulnerable group, as half of the adults affected by housing instability today were homeless at some point in their childhood.

“Housing insecurity is often a cycle that is repeated from one generation to the next,” Packard said. “SAFE’s mission is to identify youth affected by homelessness, help them find housing and other services, and open the door to new and often life-changing opportunities.”

Youth Point-in-Time Count data can also assist with grants and other sources of funding for homelessness efforts in Nevada County, including for the SAFE program.

Last year, Bright Futures for Youth received a $937,000 federal grant from the Center at Sierra Foundation to expand outreach and case management efforts for youth affected by homelessness in Nevada County. The three-year grant through Elevate Youth California—a project of The Center at Sierra Health Foundation under contract with the California Department of Health Care Services—has enabled Bright Futures for Youth to open the SAFE Drop-in Center, establish larger programs, and hire multiple employees.

“We’re already reaching out to youth in person and through social media, encouraging them to spread the word about the survey, which could help them and so many others,” said Singer of Bright Futures for Youth. “We want to reach as many youth affected by housing insecurity as possible and help them build a more stable foundation for their future.”

About bright future for youth

Bright Futures for Youth is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children and young adults in Nevada County. Bright Futures for Youth has three programs: The Friendship Club, founded in 1995; NEO, founded in 2008; and SAFE, launched in 2019 to help youth affected by homelessness. Bright Futures for Youth focuses on health and well-being, healthy relationships, goal setting, self-awareness, self-sufficiency and connectedness with the community. For more information, visit www.bffyouth.org or visit Facebook at Facebook.com/BrightFuturesforYouth.

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SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — A San Francisco high school student who saw a great need in her Chinatown community during a time of distance learning has launched a tutoring center to help struggling students.

Ella English came up with the idea during the height of the pandemic when she was just 15 years old.

The now 17-year-old incoming senior at Lick-Wilmerding High School is spending her summer running a free, fully fledged youth camp.

It was opened with just five students.

“A lot of them are first-generation. Their parents were immigrants and, actually, a lot of them are immigrants themselves,” English explained. “So we have special groups for them where tutors come in and they can speak Chinese and we make sure they can speak Cantonese or Mandarin so they can have that bilingual teaching lesson with them.”

English originally brought her idea to the non-profit Charity Cultural Services Center (CCSC) on Commerical Street. She recruited a few friends to help tutor and, once word spread about the free services, the students kept coming.

“I like to read. There are a bunch of books over there in the back and I like to draw,” said 9-year-old Cindy Pang.

“I like that you can learn things and I like that there are fun activities to do,” said 9-year-old Leqi Li.

Today, two years into the program, there are nearly 150 students and 50 tutors and counselors.

The San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and their Families took notice last year and provided funding to help pay tutors and expand its capacity through the Summer Together Initiative. The program also partners with the San Francisco Public Library.

“I started at 15. It seems really difficult in the world just for young adults to get involved — teenagers to get involved with problems and solve problems and just work to solve problems that they see in the world,” English said. “So I think it’s taught me that if I see an issue and I’m passionate about an issue I can dive right in. I should dive right in.”

English says her inspiration comes from her mother, a Chinese refugee who fled Vietnam. She had a hard time learning the language and assimilating when she arrived in San Francisco’s Chinatown, much like many of these students.

“I think their parents are really busy. They work a lot and supporting a family as an immigrant can be really challenging,” English said. “My mom tells me about her experiences and her parents experiences and how she definitely didn’t have opportunities like this when she immigrated. She kind of just sat at home.”

CCSC made contact with the Wah Ying Social Club building owner across the street when the tutoring center started to grow. The owner provided space at no cost when it’s not in use by the Chung Ngai Dance Troup and International Wing Tsun Association North America.

“We have a dire need, especially the pandemic have heightened the need of the community. Distance-learning, as we can see, affects more low-income families — more than the people that otherwise have resources,” said Ashley Cheng, executive director of Charity Cultural Services Center. “So proud of the growth that we’ve been able to see and the impact we’ve made in the community.”

The program runs year-round. The center is always looking for more tutors to serve the growing number of students.

“If I could say one thing I’m most proud of is just the impact we’ve had on the kids,” English said. “They come to camp just beginning to see their counselors, beginning to start their lessons. They go home not wanting to leave.”

Betty Yu

Betty Yu joined KPIX 5 in November 2013 as a general assignment reporter. She spent two years at WTVJ, the NBC-owned station in Miami, as a reporter before moving to San Francisco.

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SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Bay Area has the highest rates of commercially sexually exploited youth in the United States, according to the FBI, and about 98% identified were involved with the child welfare system.

Not only that, but according to a 2017 report, data from 22 agencies serving trafficking survivors in San Francisco, housing and shelter were among the top service gaps reported for youth ages 10-17.

And in fact, researchers have found that key barriers to housing include a lack of available beds, a lack of specialized support services at shelters and short-term residential care or group homes, restrictive policies that prohibit youth from returning to shelters, a lack of adults who are willing to care for older youth, and lack of adults who have the knowledge, training, and skills to support youth who have experienced complex trauma.

So, the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women partnered with the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center, Freedom Forward, Family Builders, Huckleberry Youth Programs, and West Coast Children’s Clinic to create a family-based foster care pilot for these children.

That’s why the program, called Family and Me, or FAM, is seeking foster care parents.

Interested caregivers can visit joinfam.org to learn more about the program.

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MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS SF) – A Mountain View community volunteer who works with teenagers was arrested for indecent acts on two teenagers and police said there may be more victims.

An investigation opened after a 17-year-old at the Gateway Neighborhood Center in Sunnyvale reported that the suspect requested inappropriate content from the teenager. While the detectives were interviewing the 17-year-old, they were informed by staff at the center of another incident that occurred last weekend between a 13-year-old and the suspect.

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Citing the suspect’s regular interactions with children, the detectives located the suspect, who lived in a motor home in the secure parking lot on Shoreline Blvd. and Crittenden Lane. Rafael Madrigal, also known as “Rafa”, was arrested at his home without incident, according to police.

“Our children are our weakest and it is our responsibility as a community to do everything we can to protect them,” said Lt. Armando Espitia of Mountain View Police in a statement. “This trust and this security cannot and must not be violated.”

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Rafael “Rafa” madrigal. (Mountain View Police Department)

Madrigal was detained in Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of indecent and lascivious conduct with a mansion and molesting or molesting a minor. According to prison records, he is due to appear in court on Wednesday.

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Police said Madrigal worked with teenagers on a regular basis and there could be more casualties. Anyone with information about the case or a potential victim is encouraged to contact Detective Christine Powell by email at Christine.powell@mountainview.gov.

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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – My journey to understanding the homeless problem in San Francisco took me to Fisherman’s Wharf – where I found a young man sniffing the sidewalk with a stuffed animal under his arm.

His name is Cory Harris. He is 25 years old.

“I’m from San Diego, but the coronavirus and cleanup have just moved away.”

I asked him how long he’s been homeless. He pretty much tells me his whole life.

“Just a shame … moving from house to house, no real parents who could take care of it.”

At some point he was a foster child.

But now: “I sleep outside … I have a sheet.”

I asked if he was trying to get any services … any help.

A closer look at the homeless crisis in San Francisco

“I tried, but they didn’t really want to help me, they refused me.”

Cory says the last place he went for help was on Larkin Street Youth Services.

So I decided to go next and find out why it didn’t work out with Cory.

It turns out that it might be because he’s just a bit too old to qualify for her help.

They let me and my camera in one of their shelters on Ellis Street on the edge of the Tenderloin known as the Lark Inn.

This is reserved for young people between the ages of 18 and 24.

Those who qualify will receive welcome kits of toiletries and linens.

Once inside, colorful murals with uplifting messages greet you.

While a sunny landscape cheers this hallway, the actual bedrooms are a bit bleak.

There are cement floors, replacement furniture, plastic bins, and metal lockers for storing items.

Some beds are currently not sleeping because they are only half full due to the pandemic.

“My experience is that it’s a place where you can lay your head at night when you have nothing else.”

This firsthand perspective is from Dale Jones, a resident of the Lark Inn.

I met the 22-year-old, originally from Contra Costa County, while he was at the Youth Services Access Point on Larkin Street on Golden Gate Avenue.

Dale didn’t want to go into details about how he got homeless in San Francisco, but rather described what his life was like before he found a place at the shelter.

“Couch surfing, house-to-house bouncing in the year before I came here, I lived with seven different family members, a couple of different houses in a hotel, a couple of times on an Airbnb.”

Now he tells me that he is making optimal use of the resources available to him and that he reports to his clerk here once a week.

“I’m already on the waiting list for basically cheaper apartments that will help me pay, so just go through it.”

The access side vibe is more of a college student cafe than a bureaucrat’s waiting room.

Even 12-year-olds can stop by here and have warm meals.

You have access to laundry and showers, a wardrobe and toiletries.

Below are resources to get a GED, college financial aid, or job search help.

Dale is now enrolled in a job program hoping to work as a security guard and then enroll in college.

He likes knowing that he can visit this place every day.

“At least I know they let me work Monday through Friday. At the moment I have a set program, before which I was literally from house to house, from couch to couch, day after day. “

Larkin Street Youth Services says the work to end young people’s homelessness is rare, brief and one-time.

Sherilyn Adams is the executive director.

“We know that around 50% of people over the age of 18 who are homeless had their first experience between the ages of 18 and 25, right? So we know the faster we intervene to prevent chronic homelessness. The other bit is, the longer you are outside, the more damaging it is to your health and wellbeing. “

While at the access point, I met a familiar face.

“What’s the matter with you since I last saw you? Just to survive. “

Cory was there to shower and get something to eat.

However, the 25-year-old will probably find it more difficult to find a place to sleep than it was a year ago.

“We don’t have a great system in San Francisco for the 25-35 year olds in general. Because the age range of people who are homeless is 70, 75 … and we prioritize people based on how long they have been homeless.

“And it is sometimes very difficult for people who are newly homeless and live in this way from 25 to 35 years.”

Meanwhile, Cory continues to try to get the help he needs.

“I’ve looked around [for housing]… no luck yet. “

Larkin Street Youth Services would not confirm whether they would assist Cory in finding help, but said they are able to assist those who join the system before they are 25 and will continue to receive after they are 25 .

They say they have accommodated over 400 young people so far this year.

KRON4 will continue our efforts to investigate the situation on the streets, but we also need your help. If there’s anything you think we need to see or hear, email OnTheStreets@KRON4.com

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SACRAMENTO (AP) – California is dismantling its state juvenile prisons and shifting responsibility to the counties 162 years after lawmakers created the first alternative to placing children under the age of 12 alongside adults in San Quentin and Folsom state prisons.

Proponents said the move reflected their belief that children who commit crimes can be reformed and better served if kept closer to their homes.

However, proponents and skeptics said there was a lot of uncertainty as the three remaining state lockdowns halt approval on Thursday and close in 2023. Supervision of juvenile offenders will be shifted from the State Corrections Department to the California Health and Human Services Agency.

This change in mindset “has a lot of potential to be much more effective,” said Jessica Heldman, an expert on juvenile justice at the University of San Diego School of Law, “and of course, making communities safer” by addressing the needs of the people Identify and hit juvenile offenders so they can get better.

The state system has an eventful history, which is marked by suicides and brawls by prisoners. The shift to local control is the final step in a lengthy reform effort, partly fueled by class action lawsuits and incentives for counties to keep youth out of the state system.

The first facility for adolescents in need – the San Francisco Industrial School – was established by law in 1859. Two years later, Marysville State Reform School opened for boys ages 8 to 18, 10,000 teenagers.

The number of juvenile offenders has fallen to around 750. About 16% are serving for homicide, 37% for assault, one third for robbery, 9% for rape or other sexual offenses. A disproportionately high 59% are Hispanic and 29% are Black.

Previously, adolescents could be sent to the facilities as young as 12 and in some cases remain until the age of 25, although many will be transferred to adult prison when they are 18. New admissions are now being monitored by 58 probation authorities in the district.

Young people from the age of 14 who could have gone to a state facility earlier can instead be accommodated in “safe youth treatment facilities” in the district at the instruction of the juvenile judge.

That’s a disturbing replica of state lockdowns at the local level, said Meredith Desautels, an attorney at the San Francisco Youth Law Center.

“My biggest concern is that we will actually see teenagers who would never have gone to (government facilities) to spend more time in safe custody than they were before the closure,” she said.

The counties are determined to get the law up and running, said Larry Morse, legislative director of the California District Attorneys Association, but “frankly, the details are still a little opaque and we haven’t really been able to pinpoint exactly how this will play out. “

Prosecutors want to know where teenagers who commit “the most egregious and terrible crimes” are being held and how they are being helped, he said.

District officials fear that smaller districts may have difficulty providing special programs for young people who, for example, commit sex crimes or have serious mental health problems.

The state will send the counties $ 212 million annually to pay for their new responsibilities – about $ 225,000 per youth.

But the California State Association of Counties said the funding formula penalizes districts that rely the most on the state system and therefore need the most help developing local alternatives.

The district’s probation officers, meanwhile, will attempt to strike a balance between reform advocates’ focus on rehabilitation and juvenile judges who, at prosecutor’s request, could send 16- and 17-year-olds to adult detention centers for the most serious crimes.

Approximately 35,000 juvenile offenders are being treated in California’s counties, of whom more than 3,600 are being held in youth homes, camps and ranches. But when juvenile judges have faced the most recalcitrant or restless juveniles in the past, they have had the option of sending them to the state juvenile justice department.

“And then you would have a huge $ 200 million system for that one kid to develop the necessary case plan. That gave the court confidence it didn’t have to go to the adult system, ”said Karen Pank, Chief Probation Officers of California.

With that option gone, officials and lawyers alike are seeking advice from the emerging state youth and community recovery agency.

A consortium of 40 youth advocates recently asked lawmakers to budget $ 30 million for the office – four times what Governor Gavin Newsom last proposed – to ensure better oversight of all juvenile justice, not just juveniles, who previously came into state custody.

“There was mass confusion at the county level with very little state guidance,” said attorney Frankie Guzmán, director of the California Youth Justice Initiative at the National Center for Youth Law.

This has often resulted in probation agencies being at the top by default, while law enforcement agencies are suspicious in the eyes of many proponents, said Guzmán, who spent six years in California juvenile prisons for armed robbery.

Heldman warned that the state cannot simply absolve itself of responsibility for the youth it is now pushing back into the counties.

“This is what I call Pontius Pilate: the state washes its hands on these wards,” said Republican Senator Jim Nielsen, a former state probation officer, during a law change debate this spring.

But Democratic Senator María Elena Durazo promised that her budget subcommittee will oversee an orderly transition “so that all young people stay in our communities, rather than in youth prisons far from the resources and support they need to heal trauma and the course to change “their life.”

“This was a moment of hope,” Durazo said of lawmakers voting for the postponement. “It was also an acknowledgment that we had to get it right and it wasn’t going to be easy.”

© Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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On November 3rd and 4th, the Sarasota Youth Opera is presenting a revival of its acclaimed production of Benjamin Britten’s charming opera The Little Sweep, which was last seen in 2013. The opera will be preceded by a prologue specially created for the Sarasota Youth Opera by the conductor and Youth Opera, music director Jesse Martins and director Martha Collins (Rootabaga Country, The Secret World of Og).

The Little Sweep – a moral story with a relevant message for today’s world

Set in early 19th century Boston, The Little Sweep is an enchanting story with a positive message about inclusion and collaboration. The little chimney sweep Sammy is put into service by his impoverished family and bullied by the mean old sweeper. Little Sammy is endangered in his dangerous and dirty work when he is cleaning the chimneys in the home of a wealthy family. In the end, a group of friendly and resourceful children – supported by their young governess – save the day. The opera will be performed in English, with English titles displayed above the stage. The running time including the prologue is approx. 70 minutes and is therefore perfect for families with children.

There are 90 children in the cast of The Little Sweep, with three of the adult roles being played by members of the Sarasota Opera Studio Artist and Apprentice Artist programs. All aspects of production – including lighting, costumes, sets, sets, props, wigs, and makeup – are provided by the professional Sarasota Opera’s staff, giving youth opera members a remarkable opportunity to work with seasoned experts.

The British composer Benjamin Britten wrote the opera especially for children’s voices. The composer devoted himself to the idea of ​​educating young people in the musical arts and in another of his works – The Young People’s Guide to the Orchestra – introduced millions of young audiences to classical music and the distinctive sound of every orchestral instrument.

In addition to the opera, the production includes a prologue that explains how an opera is conceived and produced, as well as supporting content related to The Little Sweep. The audience sees the sets change before their eyes. Every member of Sarasota Youth Opera takes part in this prologue, created by Music Director and Conductor of Youth Opera Jesse Martins and Director of Sarasota Youth Opera, Martha Collins.

Sarasota Opera is proud to partner with Embracing Our Differences to bring students and teachers from Sarasota and Manatee Counties to a special school matinee from The Little Sweep on Monday, November 5th at 10:30 am. Participants are invited to sing along to the last music number of the show. Materials to prepare students for their debut at Sarasota Opera are included in a teaching material handbook distributed to teachers. This special matinee is provided to schools for free (transportation courtesy of Embracing Our Differences & Tickets courtesy of Sarasota Opera).

Benjamin Britten’s little swing

Sung in English with English titles over the stage?

November 3, 2018 at 5.30 p.m. and November 4, 2018 at 12.30 p.m.

A Sarasota Youth Opera production

Ticket information

Family Pack tickets (up to 2 adults and 4 children) are only $ 65 and are available by calling (941) 328-1300 or the Sarasota Opera Box Office at 61 N. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236.

Single tickets are $ 15 for children and $ 30 for adults, and can be purchased at sarasotaopera.org and at the Sarasota Opera box office. For more information, contact the box office at (941) 328-1300.

ABOUT THE YOUTH OPERA SARASOTA

Since 1984, Sarasota Youth Opera has given thousands of young people the opportunity to experience opera firsthand by participating in extra-curricular choirs, Sarasota Opera’s main stage productions, summer workshops, and fully staged Youth Opera productions. As the only program in the United States that pledges to present full annual opera productions for young voices willing to include anyone who wants to participate regardless of skill level or ability to pay, Sarasota Youth Opera is a national model for opera education .

Youth opera choirs: From the age of 8, singers are divided into one of two choir levels. Each choir provides a framework for everyone to participate and advance at their own level as they gain greater skills and experience. The selection listed consists of classical music that includes operatic and choral pieces in various languages. The choirs perform in formal concerts and outreach events throughout the community.

Opera’s main stage season: Members of the youth opera are selected to participate in the Sarasota Opera’s winter festival season to perform in the main stage children’s choir, as extras (extras who play non-singing roles) and for special roles by the composer for children’s voices. In the last few seasons these have been roles in La bohème, Tosca, Carmen and – at the coming Winter Festival 2019 – in the Magic Flute and in Turandot. Singers are involved in the entire production process – from early music to dramatic rehearsals and performances with opera professionals.

Youth Opera Productions: Part of Sarasota Opera’s commitment to young people includes commissioning new opera works for children and young adults. Six new works were presented as part of this mission: Deadline (1989), Polly Pens Her Lightness (1993), Tom Sutas Eye of Ra (1998), John Kennedy’s The Language of Birds (2004), Daron Hagens Little Nemo in Slumberland (2012 ) and Rachel J. Peters’ Rootabaga Country (2017). Members are involved in the creation of each opera, complete with professional staging, costumes, lighting, sound, and orchestral accompaniment.

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