Scouts Reach for a Bright Future!

Play Equity to Advance Mental Health (sponsored by the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation)

South Bay

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

The importance of "connectiveness" has been recently demonstrated by the increased rates in mental health problems that youth are experiencing as a result of isolation during the COVID 19 pandemic. Recent studies by the Brookings Institute and the CDD have identified connectiveness to the community and school is a predictor for a successful future for children and youth. They reported that a sense of being cared for, supported, and belonging at school, called "school connectedness" has an important effect on students especially during a time of severe disruption periods like the pandemic. Youth who felt connected to adults and peers at school were less likely to report persistent feelings of sadness or suicidal thoughts and actual attempts at suicide. For youth of color, experiences of racism have been linked to poor mental health, academic performance, and lifelong health risky behaviors. Yet, low-income youth face steep obstacles on their path to success as they approach adulthood.

Long Beach Area Council (LBAC) Boy Scouts is the ideal organization to offer low-income youth avenues to "connectedness" to their community by engaging them in hands on learning and group team building activities through the ScoutReach program. ScoutReach is a vehicle for low-income, elementary, and middle school aged youth to join the Boy Scouts without paying the membership fees. All program costs (supplies, handbooks, uniforms, registrations, field trip transportation, and snacks) are privately funded. ScoutReach youth are referred by schools located in North, West, and Central Long Beach where 25% of children live in low-income households. LBAC Boy Scout Program Aides work with youth at each participating school on age appropriate activities. ScoutReach youth are introduced to well-rounded, challenging, outdoor recreational activities, educational experiences, and leadership skill development. LBAC offers ScoutReach youth safe outdoor play like swimming and sailing. STEM classes are offered at our Aquatic Center in the Long Beach Marina and the opportunity for youth to travel outside their immediate environment to LBAC's Camp Tahquitz in the San Bernadino Mountains. ScoutReach youth participate in hikes in local Long Beach parks, where they are introduced to urban wildlife and ecosystems. They engage in group projects and crafts at their afterschool site. By offering them a chance to learn and play, they can imagine a brighter, healthier future for themselves.

A core American ideal is that all children should have an equal, clear pathway to thrive and prosper as adults. LBAC envisions ScoutReach as a catalyst for low-income youth to level the playing field with middle income and more affluent youth in LA County. A factor that changes the dynamics for low-income youth is the availability community resources that offer them an adjunct to their educational attainment and access to experiences outside their immediate environment. LBAC strives to break the cycle of poverty by delivering programs and services to youth in their neighborhoods and schools, making our afterschool education and recreation accessible for them. ScoutReach is the perfect connector for low-income youth to participate in group activities that build the self-assurance and confidence needed to navigate our complicated world. In 2023-24, LBAC is rebuilding ScoutReach with 10 schools and 200 youth anticipated. LBAC will reopen 30 new schools and enroll 700 youth in the future.

To measure success, LBAC will design and administer a survey for youth and their parents at three intervals during the school year. Questions will be asked to elicit feedback about their experiences and lessons learned with the program activities offered. Survey data can be tracked from the beginning of the school year in September, with data from the middle of the school year in January, and then at end of the school year in June. Results reflecting successful outcomes will be based on improvements in academic achievements and behavioral changes at home, such as, difference/increases in grades, initiative in beginning and ending chores at home, greater physical activity resulting in improved health as evidenced by annual check-ups with a school nurse or child's physician, increased positive outlook and mental health, and increased direction and interest in visioning a future career for themselves, such as, plans to graduate from high school or pursuing a post-secondary education.

Not Applicable