The Houlton Band of Maliseets Boys & Girls Club ensures every youth has access to high quality youth development programming within their community, particularly during the critical afterschool and summer hours. Enhanced well-being, educational attainment, and increased confidence and self-esteem are key factors in preventing future public assistance dependency among today’s teens. Similarly, research indicates that youth who are surrounded by opportunities for positive encounters engage in less risky behavior.1 As such, Boys & Girls Clubs offer high-quality, evidence-based and -informed curricula and services that build upon youth’s strengths and help them develop skills for good decision-making for their futures. Healthy People 2020 identifies positive youth development (PYD) as an effective approach for reaching youth, in particular those from economically-disadvantaged communities,2 and is the evidenced-based model that has been selected for this proposal. The proposed project seeks to improve employment, independence, stability, health and well-being, and quality, permanent connections of youth and families in Maine. As such, the Houlton Band of Maliseets Boys & Girls Club is uniquely positioned to provide support for Tribal Teen Boys & Girls between the ages of 13-24 regardless of sexual identity through the proposed SAMHSA Native Connections program.
