Justice Involved Youth Mentoring Program
The Central Florida Urban League’s Justice Involved Youth Mentoring program works with youth from ages 10 to 18 to ensure they develop and transition properly throughout each stage of their life. Due to the societal pressures around them, our team provides detailed, age-appropriate, workshops that address but not are limited to conflict resolution, peer pressure, decision making, aggression/anger management, crime prevention, decorum, drug abuse prevention and refusal skills training.
Unfortunately, many youths in our community are surrounded by negative influencers and as such, the Central Florida Urban League provides an education program designed to offer gang resistance techniques to students beginning at the elementary school level. This program is intended to improve participants’ self-esteem, self-confidence, and ability to handle peer pressure when dealing with incidents of being influenced by gang members or bullies.
Regrettably, the Central Florida region is a growing epicenter for human trafficking. In order to combat this epidemic, the Central Florida Urban League conducts sessions to promote awareness. Participants are provided information which may include but not limited to human trafficking definition by law, forms of human trafficking, human trafficking statistics in Florida and how to report human trafficking. Education is a critical step in ensuring that our community can do its part in detecting and preventing further incidents of human trafficking.
Teen Court
The CFUL's Teen Court is a diversion program that models similar programs across the country.
This program will serve as a community based court in the Central Florida area, with a focus on lifting up and assisting local African American and Hispanic youth.
The CFUL's Teen Court will prevent youth from being burdened with a criminal record through a trial which is overseen by a judge and jury who are based in the community.
The ultimate goal of the CFUL Teen Court, which complements the organization's other programming, is to curb the school–to-prison pipeline, ultimately decreasing recidivism rates among Central Florida's African American and Hispanic youth.
For the community-at-large, the CFUL's Teen Court promotes civic engagement as it welcomes volunteers to participate in the trials.
At the end of the process, students participating in the Teen Court program who are granted community service will work with Central Florida Urban League. Here, we will provide them with enrichment opportunities and personal development. Students will then have the opportunity to be mentored, receive job training, and career coaching.
Program Details:
More details on potential start dates for this program are pending.
Community Police Academy
The CFUL's Community Police Academy will model a Citizens Police Academy, facilitated by community members for new recruits from police departments throughout Central Florida.
It is our belief that law enforcement is unable to fully protect and serve a community which they are unfamiliar with. As such, the CFUL's two-week immersive community academy will provide police recruits with a deep and nuanced understanding of the local African American community.
At the end of our workshop, both new police recruits and community members will receive a certificate acknowledging their participation as either a student or educator in our program.
Program Details:
More details on potential start dates for this program are pending.