About this srcd poster session

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Panel information
Panel 16. Prevention and Interventions

Abstract

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Research shows that non-profit organizations are important public health stakeholders. These entities play a critical role in reducing health disparities and providing community members with essential resources to aid in their quality of life and ultimately influence their health outcomes (Ressler et. al., 2021). Most of the research in this area focuses on large-scale non-profits, and very few scholars examine community-based, grassroots organizations’ roles in public health intervention. To that end, this work implements a descriptive, case study methodology to shed light on the 30 year history of a community-based organization, [redacted], whose work has been critical to addressing public health issues in the local [redacted] community. [redacted] prioritizes serving socially and economically at-risk youth of color by adapting to changing needs and directly confronting the social, economic, and academic injustices and disparities that overwhelmingly affect them. To accomplish this, they offer a wide range of programs designed to meet the specific needs of youth served by developing and implementing interventions that are rooted in theoretical frameworks and evidence-based practices. The current study illustrates their approach to public health intervention through efforts in mentorship, education, advocacy, and exposure. First developed as a program providing diversion services to youth, this study illustrates how they recognized youth needs beyond traditional diversion and restorative practices, and then reimagined its services to equip, empower, and enrich students by providing educational, social, cultural, and workforce opportunities that prepare them for successful transitions into adulthood. How their service model has transformed and developed overtime to best meet the needs of made-marginalized youth and families, is discussed. The implications of the current study have the potential to inform building and reimagining community-based public health intervention models in small non-profit organizational contexts to adapt to the changing needs of today’s youth.

Author information

Author	Role
Denise Jones, Youth Enrichment Services	Presenting author
Dennis Floyd Jones,PhD, Youth Enrichment Services	Non-presenting author
Olivia Kelley, Youth Enrichment Services	Non-presenting author
Zaida Pearson, Youth Enrichment Services	Non-presenting author
Lori Crawford, Youth Enrichment Services	Non-presenting author
Deanna C.E. Sinex, PhD, Youth Enrichment Services	Non-presenting author

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