“I get to keep the people I love safe:” Spotlight on the CYC Community Hub at Ingleside Branch Library
By Maribel Rodriguez
Hello there. I am Maribel Rodriguez and I work for the Community Youth Center (CYC) of SF. I am the Program Supervisor overseeing the Wellness Services and Family Engagement Programs for the CYC Aptos Beacon Center as well as the CYC Community Hub at the Ingleside Library. I divide my time between the three programs and serve as the point person for coordinating wellness services through the Beacon, coordinate parent workshops and special events, and provide leadership and guidance to program staff at the hub.
The SF Public Library leadership and on-site team at the Ingleside Library has been an incredible partner. The library staff are very supportive and accommodating of our program’s presence and needs. They are a true partner in every sense. Our youth love this beautiful site and the welcoming vibe that they receive when they come in every day. They take full advantage of the many things that the library has to offer such as the collection of comics/books in the Teen Center, the outdoor courtyard empowers and encourages students to participate in outdoor activities such as jump roping, hula hoops, bubble play, chalk art, STEAM activities, and much more.
A Day at the Hub
8:30 AM: Staff arrives at the site, conduct their morning health screening and we do a morning huddle
9:00 AM: Youth arrive at the site and have their health screening including having their temperature taken and are offered a free, healthy breakfast
9:20 AM: Youth begin their distant learning
10:40 AM: Youth and staff answer our daily check-in question, written by the youth and facilitated by our Program Specialists, Meriane Benavides and Krista Wright
11:00–11:50 AM: Distant learning time for youth and Jordan Mar, Program Coordinator, begins to prep for lunch/supper
11:50 AM — 12:30 PM: Lunchtime for youth
12:30–1:20 PM: Distant learning for youth, staff take their lunch
1:30–2:30 PM: Academic or Enrichment time and PM snack time
2:30–3:30 PM: Academic or Enrichment time, youth disinfect/clean up their spaces before they head out
3:30–5:00 PM: Staff conduct daily grows and glows, disinfect common areas and we end with a check-out question
“I like coming in the morning and seeing everyone and how they greet me in the learning pod. The snacks are great. I am kind of tired of virtual learning now, but I kinda deal with it because I get to keep the people I love safe. At the hub, I look forward to getting things done and going outside!”
Emani
At the beginning of every week, our staff facilitates community builders for students, and every day, we have a check-in question to encourage youth to get to know each other even more. Although youth need to maintain physically distanced from each other, we have found that being able to see their peers in-person has made them feel a sense of belonging in their community. Our staff are fully engaged with our youth and enjoy doing things together. We intentionally seek input from youth on many issues and decisions because we know youth voice matters and we value their opinions. They selected the color of our CHI hoodies, incentives that they would like to receive, food for our celebratory luncheon, check-in questions, etc.
Our enrichment activities are designed to give students the opportunity to try new things and develop interests outside of the classroom. Our enrichment activities promote critical thinking, problem-solving, socialization, collaboration, and teamwork. Enrichments make the youth’s time at the community hub fun, which helps students to become more engaged in their daily learning. Some activities our students have enjoyed thus far are: STEM and art activities such as Afrofuturism, Solarpunk art, and literature. They created a Bisa Butler-inspired collage, explored abstract paper art, embroidery inspired by Alma Thomas, and-chalk and silhouette art inspired by Aaron Douglas. Students completed a chemistry experiment using potassium iodide or yeast and warm water as a catalyst to make Elephant Toothpaste as well as made Microbe Leather using Kombucha, tea, and natural sweeteners. Every Friday, we offer “Smoothie Fridays” where students get to learn the nutritional benefits of fruits such as bananas which are rich in potassium, mangos are rich in vitamin A and C and apples are rich in fiber and antioxidants. For American Heart Month in February, our youth and staff got their blood pumping with fun cardiovascular activities such as hula-hoop challenges, jump-roping, dancing to the “Cha Cha Slide”, and many more community builders.
“I think our physical activities are fun to do. The staff continues to bring new and more fun ideas for the students everyday. I look forward to trying new physical activities!”
Daeja
One of the many highlights that I would like to share is seeing the deep impact of the hub on youth’s educational and social emotional wellbeing. Upon opening our hub, we found that there has been a significant learning loss with many youth during these unprecedented times, especially youth who have been referred to our hub from Aptos’ Coordinated Care Team. Some students were failing in one or more classes or were struggling to keep up while others were suffering from the negative impacts of social isolation while being sheltered-in-place the past year. Through our CHI work, we are able to see first hand how important in-person learning, academic support and wellness services are for students to thrive and achieve positive academic and SEL outcomes. It’s been very rewarding to see how some of our students who after a single grading period in our program, have significantly improved their grades with the individualized support from caring and supportive adults. We have also seen improvements to their confidence, self-esteem and social interactions with others. I am eager and enthusiastic to see how our program can continue to positively impact our students.
“I like coming to the learning pod. My favorite things are the outdoor activities. I like my zoom classes more than original classes because there are less distractions like people talking over the teacher.”
Arin
One of the most rewarding memories during this experience has been when interviewing a student for a questionnaire for the SF Beacon Initiative. The youth shared that they are very grateful that we helped them improve their grades and that they are really happy to attend our program. I shared this with the rest of the staff and it brought smiles to everyone’s faces. This is the reason why we do the work that we do.
San Francisco is a great place to live, work and grow. This city has so many amazing things to offer to its residents including various resources.The year 2020 was a difficult year for all of us. However, after seeing the wonderful efforts by the Department of Children Youth and their Families, the San Francisco Public Library, the San Francisco Unified School District, and community-based organizations such as the Community Youth Center of San Francisco have done to provide supports to San Franciscan youth and their families, it reminds us of why it is great to live in a city like San Francisco. The city has made great efforts to ensure its people receive the necessary resources to live and thrive. The Community Hubs have centered education and a safe learning environment for the youth in the city, holding high quality education in mind.
The City can still do more to help Hub students and their families thrive. Based on the feedback from students and their families, some of the things which some families are still in need of are housing and food resources as well as tech devices at home.
I want to thank our youth and their families for being patient during these times. I want to show appreciation for our youth and tell them that their generation has experienced so many unpredictable historic events and that they have shown me they can continue to work hard every day with resilience and determination that makes us, their families and themselves proud.
Maribel, as we struggle and grind through the pandemic, what song motivates you to continue to serve our communities?
Natasha Bedingfield, “Unwritten”
To learn more about DCYF’s Community Hub Initiative, visit dcyf.org/care
