Social Service Planning through Environmental Analysis 

Vista Member: Brian Coleman
Year of Service: November 2007-2008

Project Overview: This project is incredibly important to Turning Point because non-profit organizations require a lot of outside marketing in order to successfully compete with other shelters and organizations for limited funds and assets.  When looking at the community as a whole, the importance of youth crisis shelters and programs cannot be overstated.  With rates of homeless and runaway youths on the rise, Life Skills programs need to be in place to teach children habits that will make them successful in life, in an effort to curb the cycle of poverty, and shelters need rooms and assets to take in the increasing number of youth.  Overall, this helps to increase the quality of life generationally, so that youth of today can pass these skills along to their own children in the future, creating a cycle of information and awareness.

Supporting Organizations: Open Inn Turning Point empowers youth and families to develop and experience self worth. They provide supportive services that teach clients skills that meet their needs and encourage a positive outcome. The program focuses on the empowerment of youth in the community. It is unique because it utilizes Teen Peer Counselors to teach preventative life skills, in which they design and implement classes that focus on such topics as substance abuse prevention, food and hygiene for independent living, and street survival skills.

Project Goals:
Goal One: To design, implement and support a community environmental analysis aimed at identifying agency and community assets.
Goal Two: To create and initiate development plan to (1) improve the effectiveness of Turning Point’s service delivery and (2) create and sustain community connections.
Goal Three: Inform and educate clients, community partners, referring agencies, and related service providers of Turning Points development plan and results of SWOT analysis.
Goal Four: To provide a model of analysis and plan development to community organizations.

Accomplishments

"Since starting my year of service, I have 1) received a $10,000 donation from Margaret T. Morris Foundation, 2) completed, distributed and analyzed the first ever SWOT analysis surveys at Turning Point, 3) researched and ran four focus groups, a first for Turning Point, 4) compiled data and presented five environmental analysis reports identifying agency and community assets, a first for Turning Point, 5) helped staff the Drop-Inn Center, a teen hang out space on Turning Point’s campus, 6) became a founding member of the Yavapai County Youth Advisory Council (YiCYAC), a group of service providers dedicated to providing programs for youth in Yavapai County and 6) helped plan events for teenagers at the Drop-Inn Center teen hang out space."

What’s Happening Now

"I am currently working on a training manual that will encompass the 7 day, 30 day and ongoing tests and policies that employees need to accomplish as part of their training. I am working on a presentation on how to complete an environmental analysis that will be presented to local service providers and VISTA members at the end of my term. I am assisting the Americorps Drop-Inn Coordinator Ashley Aquino in creating surveys and putting together a report to be presented to Prescott area stakeholders on the importance of an after-school teen center not affiliated with the public school system. Also, as a side project, I am completing a training with the new Teen Peer Counselors on how to work with youth in community development projects." - Brian Coleman