In order to establish a sense of community, there needs to be a community-wide dedication to the betterment of an area especially in low-income neighborhoods.
Some communities choose to focus on providing shelter, others attempt to nourish their members, but East Los Angeles has dedicated itself to focusing on something that could better the overall quality of life for everyone in the future: their youth generation.
Every 26 seconds, a student drops out of high school and students in low-income neighborhoods are five times more likely to drop out according to Youth Build, the Charter School of California.
This non-profit organization focuses on providing a tailored education to low-income youth ages 16-24 who have dropped out of high school due to extenuating circumstances like teenage pregnancy or gang-related violence. Emily Suttmeier, the YouthBuild Charter School of California Communications and Outreach Coordinator, has seen first hand the impact that this volunteer group has made in the East Los Angeles community specifically as well as in all 19 locations throughout California.
"This school feels more like a family than like a school," she said. "It understands the challenges of their lives better than most other schools have in the past. They realize that they are with both students and teachers who have gone through a lot of the same things they are going through."
The charter school first opened in September of 2008 by founder Phil Matero with 265 students at three sites of which 57 ended up graduating that same year. Prior to the start of this year, the program had over 2000 students with about 600 expected to graduate this year.
YouthBuild tailors their curriculum by focusing on five main components: construction, education, counseling, leadership and graduate opportunity. However, the non-profit community service organization uses a little bit of its own medicine to really break through with the students while simultaneously bettering the community.
"What we try to do is find ways to make learning interesting and relevant to our students," said Suttmeier. "One way we have been successful in doing that is having our students really engage in their community and take action through either community service or asset mapping to figure out what would make our community a better place."
At the end of each trimester, the YouthBuild students brainstorm with their teachers and come up with a community service project that is really important to them and that is how they are eventually graded - through authentic performance tasks rather than an actual test.
The East Los Angeles Charter School realized a necessity for healthier options especially a greater availability of fresh produce. They teamed up with a local convenience store and a nearby community garden to provide the neighborhood with easy access to fresh vegetables and locally grown fruit to improve the quality of food options in the area.
One of the key components of the program that the teachers really stress is the opportunity for these kids to pursue a college degree - something many of them never thought would be possible. They partner with other organizations like the Boys & Girls Club of East Los Angeles to provide scholarships for students to get a chance at higher education.
Suttmeier works directly with these students who have particular success stories as she tries to build awareness for the program. One of her favorite student testimonials comes from the East Los Angeles program. Meet Frankie Jaimes - a graduate of the LA CAUSA class of 2012.
He is now pursuing a history degree at the East Los Angeles College with hopes of transferring to UCLA soon. "My experience there was life-changing," said Jaimes. "I can't thank the staff enough for what they have done for me. This school has changed my life in such a positive way."
In order to truly better a community in all aspects, it starts with instilling a sense of hope in the eyes of the youth generation. These are the future leaders of the community who have the potential to bring about actual change but they can't do so if they feel discarded or let down because they don't finish high school. The YouthBuild Charter Schools of California allow students to not only graduate and feel a sense of accomplishment but it also gives students the ability to start giving back to the community from an early age.
Suttmeier believes the success comes from the mentality the organization emphasizes in every student. Each year, they start the program off with something they call "mental toughness workshops" which are icebreakers where the students are encouraged to find the kinds of things that tie them together.
"They end up realizing that they do have a lot in common that they are going through this together and that they will graduate together," she said. "It's the feeling of a family but also community involvement that's so huge because so many of our students realize they can be leaders in their community and are leaders in their community and realize they can actually make a difference."