Up for a second reading at City Council Monday night is a proposed ordinance to create a Youth Engagement and Services Department, but several members of the council on Thursday raised concerns about it, saying they wanted to wait until Mayor-elect Shirley Washington takes office Jan. 1 before deciding on the issue.
The proposed department was created by Joni Alexander, currently the assistant to Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth. It would provide students with year-round activities, including community service projects, partnerships with police officers and others, and things such as talent shows and clothing drives.
Why wait, aldermen?
Go ahead and pass this program, because it would mean one less thing on Mrs. Washington’s plate when she takes office. And, rest assured, her plate will be overflowing.
Everything we have heard about Alexander’s program is great.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Pine Bluff municipal budget already contains $150,000 toward youth programs, and Alexander is requesting an extra $50,000 to kick-start her project.
The program would employ one full-time director and two part-time positions and provide services for 12 months.
“We are holding our kids prisoner for the sake of politics. And it’s ridiculous,” Alexander said to aldermen George Stepps and Glen Brown Sr. at a meeting of the City Council’s Administration Committee on Thursday.
Right you are, Joni. Right you are.
Hollingsworth has defended Alexander and her work on the program, calling her “highly qualified to operate it.” The mayor referred to previous statements of support of city-sponsored youth programs made by Stepps, Alderwoman Thelma Walker and Brown.
“She has a passion for and is highly qualified to do this program,” Hollingsworth said. “We keep saying we want something for the youth. But what has constructively been done to make it happen?”
Hollingsworth said this program could rival that of Little Rock’s Positive Atmosphere Reaches Kids, or P.A.R.K., youth program. Pine Bluff currently operates a summer youth program, which Alexander said her department is not looking to compete with. And, unlike the current youth program, Alexander’s would be year-round.
The current summer youth program employs 120 young people for a period of six weeks. For the sake of context, Alexander said there are more than 4,900 young people in that age group who need to be served.
To us, one of the most impressive parts of Alexander’s program is the Pine TREE (Together Reaching Exposure and Enrichment) program. It’s an entrepreneurial program that will allow 230 kids to create their own business plans. It will also teach the kids financial guidance, anger management, instructions on the legal system, development assets, vocabulary building, Pine Bluff/Delta history, words of the day and feature guest speakers.
The Pine TREE program will end with an expo, which will display the kids’ business ideas and give the public an opportunity to observe the students’ businesses and buy products that they created in arts and crafts classes. There will also be a fish tank section (based off of the show SHARK tank) to grant local investors the opportunity to invest or donate to the Pine TREE students’ businesses.
What a way to propel our young people into future success. We applaud this program and urge the City Council to consider passing it with flying colors. Joni Alexander, you have our support.