Addressing Citrus Bends Youth Crisis: A Community-Centered Solution

Abstract

Statement of Needs Within Panther County there exists a significant gap in services and a spike in crime rate. The city of Citrus Bend is an area of concentrated poverty, crime, and unemployment. In comparison with the rest of the United State of America, Citrus Bend has higher crime rates in both adult and juvenile court. In addition to the crime rate, 34% of the population is unemployed and the average annual pay sits at $19,000. The families in Citrus Bend do not have the same access to services and resources as the larger, wealthier cities do. This is most obvious when it comes to education, as Citrus High School maintains an F school ranking and 45% graduation rate. The county has the responsible to look after all towns and cities within it. While cities like Pirate Beach and Manatee Cove thrive, Citrus Bend is isolated and the young people living there pay the price for this. How the committee would like to address and treat this issue is by first investing in the youths of Citrus Bend. General description The committee acknowledges that Citrus Bend currently lacks any recreation centers or support. How we would like to remedy this is by creating a community center with the funds donated by the Sebastian Haff Foundation. One proposed feature of this community center is a skate park which will give the juveniles an outlet for physical activity. The lack of recreation center in Citrus Bend may also indicate that the children of Citrus Bend may also lack in physical activity and be in poor health (McKenzie, Moody, Carlson, Lopez & Elder, 2013). This community center will act as a prevention measure towards juvenile delinquency while also attending to other needs within the community. A community centered disadvantage requires a community centered program to best help these...