Student Bill of Rights
1) Safety & Security: a safe and
secure school, work, and
recreation environment
2) Access: participation in pro-
grams aligned with your
education, career, and life goals.
3) Creativity: presented with
opportunities to express yourself
through art, dance, music, and
the written word.
4) Recreation: pursue wholesome
recreational activities that are of
interest to you, such as baseball,
basketball, physical training,
soccer, swimming, tennis, etc.
5) Dietary Needs: have your dietary
restrictions respected and healthy
food choices aligned with your
dietary requirements presented.
6) Wellness: improve and maintain
your emotional, physical and
spritual health with the assistance
of dieticians, nutritionists, per-
sonal trainers, counselors,
mediators, and other profes-
sionals participating in Founation
programs.
7) Harassment: not be bullied,
disrespected, or harassed in any
manner, by anyone at any time.
8) Privacy and Confidentiality: have
all information pertaining to your
participation in Stand for Youth™
programs safeguarded.
9) Open Communication: Respectfully
approach any member of the Stand
for Youth™ team with matters close
to heart and opportunities for im-
provement without fear of isolation or
retribution.
10) Resolve Issues: make it known
when an issue arises, file a
complaint when necessary,
and have those complaints
reviewed and addressed in a
timely, meaningful, confidential
and respectful manner.
11) Make suggestions: To assist
Stand for Youth™ staff in contin-
uously improving programs.
12) Feel Welcomed: into our well-
ness community, knowing every
attempt will be made to create an
environment where you can
excel and thrive.
YOUTH ADVOCACY
Stand for Youth™ works closely with federal, state and local agencies, businesses and other non-profit organizations to ensure that the most fundamental needs of youth served are met, incorporating trauma informed practices. We define those needs as: food, housing, legal representation, medical care, transportation, and obtaining mentors and sponsors that model the types of behavior we want youth served to exemplify .
Food
Studies have shown that students who receive proper nourishment do better than those that don't. Many students living below poverty level and/or who are homeless don't eat regularly and when they do, aren't usually provided with healthy and nourishing meals.
We advocate on behalf of youth served with the Department of Social Services, food pantries and shelters to obtain vouchers for youth served so they can receive the nourishment they desperately need. Eating healthy and nutritous meals empowers youth to be more focused at school, in their communities, at home and at work.
Housing
The amount of homeless and runaway youth in our country is growing. Human and social service organizations are bombarded with requests for housing. High schools now have a growing homeless population.
The need for housing for homeless youth is significantly higher than supply. We work diligently to establish relationships with human and social services agencies, local shelters and affordable housing providers, so should one of our youth become homeless, we can identify somewhere for them to stay temporarily until permanent housing becomes available. This minimizes disruptions to their education caused by them not having a palce to reside.
Stand for Youth™ advocates on behalf of youth who do not have medical insurace. We schedule appointments with local and state agencies to ensure that students have the necessary coverage for annual visits to physcians, eye doctors and dentists, and emergency hospital visits when needed. We also hold workshops for their parents.
Our Partners include the Department of Social Services, the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, and Housing for the Homeless.
Medical Care
Mentoring
Stand for Youth™ advocates for good role models for our youth. Having someone they can talk to about pressing matters that also models the type of behavior we want our young people to have, is a key ingredient to their independence and success.
Youth Mentors and Sponsors provide advice on a broad range of topics, and provide guidance and opportunities to assist youth engaged in understanding that they are both valuable and needed.
Legal Representation
Unfortunately, many of our young people are getting caught up in the legal system. Some of them have no representation and simply can not afford the costs of hiring an attorney.
We are thankful for organizations like Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), where everyday citizens can attend training, so they can stand for youth whose parents are simply unable to be there for them. Additionally, many law firms do pro bono work.
Transportation
Stand for Youth™ advocates for youth to be transported to human and social service agencies, eye, dental, and doctor appointments, job interviews, college tours/interviews, etc. when the youth served does not have any transportation to do so on their own. We work with social security, disability services and school systems to ensure that transportation vouchers and mobile access is obtained.
