Summer Youth Program 75, funded by the City’s Office of Manpower, in Skinker-DeBaliviere is now past history; Many neighbors are commenting that it (the program) went so smoothly and efficiently that they didn’t even know it was here supplying our children 16 to 21 years old with much needed summer job opportunities. Henry Hall, minister at Grace Methodist, served as Director of SYP and stated, “By anyone’s standards or measurements the 8-week employment program was an unreal success. I can hardly believe how well things went myself. It was great fun and the credit has to go to the kids, or I should say, young adults, we employed. The Skinker-DeBaliviere youth are some of the most intelligent, hard-working, ‘baddest’ people I have ever worked with. It is only when we adults ignore them and their growing needs that they like any children can be extremely “mischievous.”
The basic program was built around six components or work areas, each employing 8 youths reporting to one component supervisor who reported to Director Henry Hall. Using an umbrella-type concept, five interested neighborhood organizations formulated a mini-program for a particular component and hired a supervisor—all under the guidelines of Manpower. The Director of the program, Henry Hall, was hired by the Skinker-DeBaliviere Community Council. Other supervisors, their participating organizations, their component work area, and their background include: Pat Smith, Aquarian Community Center, Office Skills; she is a part-time elementary school teacher, City Public Schools. Ken Fuchs, Grace and Peace Fellowship, Multi-Skill; he is a seminary student, Covenant Seminary. Malva Williams, People’s Community School, Landscapers; she teaches in the City Public Schools and is a part-time real estate agent. Mary Susan Sante, People’s Clinic, Paint Crew; she is a sculptress and Artist-in-Residence in the University City Public Schools. Much thanks and congratulations are to be extended to these beautiful hardworking people. Although according to the Office of Manpower Guidelines, SYP-75/Skinker-DeBaliviere was required to serve only 48 16-to-21 year old youth, through skillful planning the participating neighborhood groups were able to design jobs that would employ young persons to work with younger neighborhood children. By allowing 24 SYP workers to work in two different day camps,’ a tutoring program, and sponsorship of two trips to Six Flags (at the expense of the program) over 300 extra children were involved in the 8-week program and those tax dollars were stretched. Malva Williams supervised most of this activity all by herself. Also the Multi-Skill component, supervised by Ken Fuchs, Grace and Peace Fellowship, placed 8 SYP workers the Hamilton Medical Center to work with elderly and infirm persons in a professional health care setting for a 2-week period.
Another example of how the program sought to expose SYP workers to nonpeer environments was the Office Skill component, supervised by Pat Smith, Aquarian Community Center. Pat placed 9 SYP workers in office sites including Des Peres Library, Washington University Payroll and Personnel areas (thanks to Bob Blackburn!) and other locations. She illustrated that the introduction of a temporary youth worker into a busy office can be an asset rather than a cause for alarm.
Elmer Goodun added his professional training in architecture and real estate to motivate his landscapers (and one landscaperess!) to get out of bed and be on time at work by 7:00 a.m. every morning for eight weeks (three unexplained “lates” was grounds for dismissal and you should have heard some of the explanations). Also in the area of the more physical labor was the paint crew component under the magnetic supervision of Susan Sante, one of our neighborhood’s finer artists.
Sue and her paint crew transformed the SDCC offices into probably the best appearing neighborhood offices in the entire St. Louis region and we all can be proud. Stop by 6008 Kingsbury and see a true work of art. Everyone who worked for SYP-75 learned a great many things this summer and through our learning the neighborhood has benefited. One goal of SYP-75 was to demonstrate to people that by “working to improve or enrich someone else’s condition you improve or enrich your own condition simultaneously.” This is the kind of program young people growing up in 1975 in a city like St. Louis need and are asking for in a variety of ways. It is a program based on Love and Concern. This is perhaps why SYP-75 functioned as well as it did because with Love things usually work out much better.
Original photograph caption
Henry Hall,Director of SYP-75. The Paper, October1975,page2. Photographer not credited.
Originally published in The Paper, October 1975.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1975_10.pdf, printed page(s) 2; PDF page(s) 2.
