On Feburary 20th, 2016, Famicos Foundation will sponsor the First Annual Glenville Youth Wellness Empowerment Summit. Cleveland Ohio 44108) from 9am-3pm and is free of charge to all attendees. This summit hopes to give our youth the ability to make conscious choices to live well. Wellness as we know is an active process of becoming aware and making choices toward living a fulfilling life. More tha
n the absence of illness, wellness is a dynamic and multifaceted process of change and growth in ones lives. With that in mind, we will seek to address the eight dimensions of wellness (Emotional, Occupational, Environmental, Physical, Intellectual, Social, Financial and Spiritual) in an engaging summit for students ages 12-18. Through this summit, we hope to begin to address major issues that plague area youth. Glenville’s youth face some serious challenges in regards to education, safety and quality of life. Glenville has the LEAST number of performing seats in the school district. Only 12% of female and 6% of male students read at or above grade level, leading to a very meager 42% graduation rate. Contributing to the lack of success is the fact that 83% of the students from Glenville live below 185% of the federal poverty line. Cuyahoga County, as a whole, has the highest incarceration of any county in Ohio, accounting for over 16% of the states’ prison population and return between 5,000-6,000 people annually from terms of incarceration. Glenville is ranked second among Cleveland neighborhoods for incarceration and recidivism rates. Additionally, Cleveland has the highest crime rate (homicide) in Ohio and is the most segregated city in the country making our streets unsafe. As a result of understanding there is work that needs to be done, The Cleveland Foundation and Famicos are working to create youth programming aimed at addressing issues that are relevant to the neighborhood, inspiring students to be the change advocates in their schools and communities, providing fundamental leadership skills, and connecting youth with resources to aid in development. The tools will be placed in our youths hands to become proactive in constructively breaking down historic barriers.
