The Hunters Point Family’s target population is low-income African-American youth and young adults (males and females), ages 10-25, within the Bayview Hunters Point community.
HPF currently serves a core (attend programs at least 2-3 times per week) of 200 youth and young adults, and an additional 200 youth on a drop-in basis, at five different programs throughout BVHP.
HPF provides specific outreach to youth living in public and subsidized housing, who are at risk of: becoming victims or perpetrators of homicide and violent crime; arrest and incarceration; sexual exploitation, and premature parenthood. Many of our target youth have experienced prenatal exposure to drugs and alcohol, sexual and/or physical abuse by family members/caretakers; and neglect due to parental substance abuse or diminished mental health. Most of our participants experience multiple risk factors simultaneously. There are no other programs in Bayview Hunters Point that exclusively target these youth. The following statistics demonstrate the complexity of issues our participants are faced with:
- All (100%) participants come from low and very low-income households.
- Over 75% of participants are residents of public housing.
- Over 70% of participants are reading at least two grade levels below their own.
- Over 65% of participants have had contact with the juvenile justice system.
- Approximately 50% of program participants’ parents have criminal histories.
- Over 70% of participants live with a family member with substance abuse issues.
- At least 35% of participants were born addicted to controlled substances.
- All (100%) have a close friend or relative who has been murdered within the last year.
Although HPF targets young people who are typically described as “at-risk” and “high-risk, we view our participants as “high-potential” youth whose resilience and ability to thrive despite adversity are among their greatest assets. Each program works to build on the strengths of youth to “empower them to develop their full potential.” Because many of our youth have experienced consistently harsh realities, they have learned to thrive in the face of enormous obstacles. HPF targets these youth, because within them lies the greatest power for the transcendence, transformation, and transmutation of our entire community.
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