Northside

Address: 1350 W. North Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53205

Telephone Number: 414-374-9427

Email address: ncain.ns@ymcamke.org

Website: www.ymcamke.org

Contact Person(s) for Field Placement: Nicole Cain, MSW, Youth and Family Director

Services Provided: The YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee is a social service organization, delivering programs each year to 150,000 people, or one of every 10 people in Metropolitan Milwaukee. The YMCA's mission is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind, and body for all. Increased service to Milwaukee's most disadvantaged neighborhoods is a top priority.

The new Northside YMCA is located in one of Milwaukee's most disadvantaged neighborhoods, and priority programs are provided in the areas of youth development, teens, families, older adults, and community development. The Northside YMCA provides services such as after school safe place programs for youth/teens in the community, day camp, family events, Black Achievers teen programming, the NEW kids program for obese adolescents and youth, and Girl's Night Out to name a few.

Summary of Expected Responsibilities and Learning Outcomes of Student Interns: Student interns will get the urban field experience of a lifetime as you are exposed to all areas of social work from direct service/group work to administrative practices and community outreach.

Interns will have the opportunity to work with parents, youth, volunteers, and staff co-facilitating workshops/groups and coordinating/implementing youth and family programs at the agency.

Students will also have the opportunity to work with youth and staff in programs such as Prime Time Kids and Girl's Night Out (GNO only in the Fall/Spring semesters), as well as, assist with the overall youth programming. Youth programs such as Prime Time Kids provide inner-city youth ages 5-12, with homework help, recreational activities, arts and crafts, friendship, and guidance.

Summer placements will have the opportunity to work hands-on and administratively with the summer day camp program servicing children ages 5-15 years of age. A majority of the campers that enroll for the summer day camp program are able to participate in the program because their family has a very low income, and they are eligible to receive subsidized assistance through the W2-Wisconsin Works program that pays for this urban summer camp experience. Students will learn about child abuse and neglect, mandatory reporting, what it is like to facilitate staff trainings, how to teach developmental assets and core values to youth, fiscal management and budgeting, the importance of teamwork/building relationships, how to plan a program from start to finish, state licensing and audits, and all the effort that it takes for a director to provide programming to at-risk youth that will teach them life-long learnables and give them the opportunities that they may never have outside of the YMCA.

Students must have the ability to work with diverse populations of people. Our agency is located in the inner-city of Milwaukee and approximately 50% of our programming is catered to at-risk youth and teens that are predominantly African-American.

Students will have the opportunity to attend administrative meetings/cabinets at the Northside YMCA branch, as well as Association-wide that will also foster learning experiences at all levels from micro to macro. This would be a great opportunity for a student that is interested in eventually going into administrative social services.

Students will have the opportunity to network and build relationships with professional staff within the Northside YMCA and throughout all of the YMCAs in the Metropolitan Milwaukee area.

Overall, field students will be provided with a wide variety of learning experiences extending beyond this description. There are always a number of activities going on at the Northside YMCA and students are not expected to be a part of everything. However, they are welcome to participate and learn from as many opportunities that will meet their field requirements and personal expectations.

Students will have a better understanding of direct practice after working hands-on with youth, teens, and families. Students will also have a better understanding of administrative responsibilities within a social service agency by working closely with the Youth and Family Director and other coordinators and directors at the Northside YMCA. Moreover, by attending cabinet meetings, administrative staff meetings, and being involved in all of the different programming at the YMCA.

This is a great experience for any one ready to learn the true definition of multitasking, as well as how to put all of those social work classes into real life situations!