GA's April 2023 Newsletter

Building Connections, Building Character

April 2023 Newsletter

GA hosted free spring break camps at eight sites across Miami-Dade, Homestead, and Broward where 208 youth spent their week off learning something new and having fun in the process!

Elementary, middle, and high school students got the chance to do arts and crafts, STEM activities, and career and leadership sessions, and attend field trips to Urban Air, Dezerland, Sparez Bowling Alley, and the Miami County Youth Fair.

Our W3 camp hosted a lifeguard training through the City of Lauderhill where campers learned basic rescue and CPR fundamentals.

VIP camp highlighted career development as a catalyst for violence prevention by facilitating career exploration using virtual reality. Campers also created artwork to express their views on how they would support community development by reducing youth gang violence, substance abuse, and the risk of HIV/AIDS and STIs exposure.

Our OPP camp used arts-based interventions and culinary arts as a way to encourage drug prevention. OPP campers expressed and released negative emotions through group-based artwork, increasing their self-esteem and promoting social inclusion, and problem-solving.

BLOC middle and high schoolers learned lifeskills and about racial equity. They had a movie and game truck day.

For GPS camp, our K-5 children had fun with team-building exercises; learned social skills with a pajama party; had a field trip to Fun Dimension; and participated in physical fitness activities in a field day competition between the different GPS campsites.

We can't wait to see everyone again this summer!

Gang Alternative, Inc.’s 2022

Annual Report

We are excited d to announce the release of our 2022 Annual Report! Learn more about the impact we are making with the help of our funders, donors, partners, and friends to serve South Florida’s most underserved.

Read Now

Success Story from Project RESIST:

Discovering the Importance of Self Love

Brandy F. enrolled as a participant in Project RESIST in November 2022 and until recently, Ms. Shanteria Randall, the program manager, had never seen her without a face mask. She was often the only student in the afterschool cohort who wore a mask. Shanteria would ask her, “Brandy are you trying to protect yourself from Covid-19” and she replied, “No. I’m covering up my face because I don’t like it”. Ms. Shanteria spoke words of affirmation to her and asked her to consider showing herself and Brandy removed her mask only for a second to show Ms. Shanteria her face.

As time went on, Ms. Shanteria would approach Brandy and she would ask, “ How do you know this is me?". “Because I know you. I see you.”, Ms. Shanteria said. She could tell Brandy felt good to be recognized and acknowledged. Occasionally, Ms. Shanteria would give Brandy homework that included self-love exercises like writing down five affirmations and speaking to herself in the mirror every morning. She taught her that if you say something enough times, you will believe it.

One day, during a RESIST tabling event, Ms. Shanteria noticed that Brandy didn’t have her face mask on. Brandy, full of excitement, approached her and said, “Ms. Shanteria, you see I took my face mask off?”. Ms. Shanteria asked, “What sparked the change?”, to which Brandy replied, “I became more comfortable in my skin, thanks to you”.

Seeing Brandy become comfortable and proud enough to show her face at school speaks volumes. The work that we do as mentors, counselors, facilitators, and role- models is necessary, needed, and never goes unnoticed!

Project RESIST; Ms. Shanteria and Brandy F.

GA Program Spotlight:

YouthBuild

Career opportunities in the building and construction sector continue to expand across South Florida, and GA is elated to conduct a YouthBuild Program for the Miami-Dade County community. Funded by the Department of Labor and delivered as a component of GA’s Workforce Development Pillar of Service, YouthBuild serves young adults ages 16-24; offering job readiness learning opportunities to men and women who are interested in designing their futures through building and construction trade career pathway opportunities.

Offered in communities nationwide, YouthBuild provides participants with a variety of educational, employment, personal development, and industry-specific occupational learning experiences. YouthBuild participants can earn a high school credential, develop essential workplace behaviors that employers require, master occupational skills, and be awarded industry certifications.

During the YouthBuild six-month training cycle, and based upon each participant’s specific needs, high school educational and employability services are provided. Further, all participants receive industry-recognized National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) building and construction trades certification training, training that is essential to qualify for career pathways and apprenticeship opportunities in this industry sector. Project-based hands-on learning experiences serve to equip each YouthBuild participant with the skills needed in the industry today. Additionally, leadership development, community service-learning sessions, and individual and team activities prepare participants to become self-sufficient, engaged citizens who are valuable assets to their communities. YouthBuild classes are held at GA’s North Miami Community Center (6620 North Miami Ave., Miami, FL 33150), Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.

The YouthBuild team encourages young adults and other organizations to contact GA and learn more about this program or to sign-up for an upcoming class. Contact the Program Manager, Willy Louis-Charles at

786-494-9913 and/or email wlouis-charles@myga.org; or get an application at Career Source located at 801 NE 167th St. North Miami Beach, FL 33162. You may also apply online today at the link below!