Creating Brighter Futures through Second Chances

South LA

Foundation for Second Chances (FFSC) serves youth in grades K-12 in communities plagued with crime, gang violence, extreme poverty, and low academic performance. FFSC recruits and receives referrals for youth from schools, community based organizations, libraries, DCFS and neighborhoods located in Service Planning Area 6. Students from SPA 6 face a number of economic, environmental, and social challenges that have a direct impact on their wellbeing. Within SPA 6 there is a strong prevalence of foster care, gang-related activity, juvenile delinquency, and youth victimization. These issues create profound instability in our families and communities, fueling high school drop, unemployment, and immense incarceration rates. As a result, this continues to make it nearly impossible for our youth to meet their basic needs, reinforcing the vicious cycle of poverty and suffering in the way of their success. FFSC wants to break that cycle by empowering children labeled as “disadvantaged” or “at-risk” to become leaders for themselves, their peers and their community. SCLP believes in every student’s capability to succeed when given access to all the necessary tools. SCLP consists of 5 modules that are 8 weeks in length. The modules expands our youth knowledge base by providing significant exposure to real-life work experiences, hands-on activities that challenge their decision making process, intense cross-cultural and intergenerational volunteer projects both locally and abroad. The components of SCLP are: Education, Financial Literacy, Leadership (includes Civic and Service Learning), Social Justice/Advocacy and Health. The objectives for SCLP: Assist students in developing specific skills needed for effective leadership, high graduation school and career paths; Provide students with a process for examining pertinent issues facing their communities and knowledge of those issues how to make change; Increase students understanding of and appreciation for cultural diversity; Provide opportunities for students to apply the knowledge and skills learned through meaningful community service; Students become ambassadors of their own learning so they can better educate and teach their peers and community (train the trainer). This allows them to personally develop through SCLP and have access to tools and resources that not only helps students to apply to college, but also prepares them to succeed in life. Upon completion students receive a certificate and have a graduation.