THE YOUTH

Our ‘neighborhood” is in a depressed urban district plagued by street gangs, substance abuse, domestic violence, and a variety of other types of criminal activity. The parents are often addicted, unemployed, and disinterested in the care of their children who live in abject poverty, facing daily issues involving crime, drugs, alcoholism, and welfare that proceeds from one family to the next as a way of life.

MVP participants are school age, but many include younger siblings at times. Ninety percent of the children are Hispanic, with many of them being bilingual. Ninety-five percent of the participants come from families receiving AFDC and/or with incomes below the poverty level. Sixty percent are males and forty percent are females. Most of the children have had traumatic/emotional experiences in their short lives.