Youth Programs Provide An Ounce of Prevention

Located centrally on Grand Avenue is the Thelma Gibson Health Initiative, a nonprofit organization, whose Youth Violence Prevention Program is one of many it offers to community members.
“The youth program started in 2003 as the Girls Group consisting of high school students funded by the Women’s Fund,” said Maya Holton, coordinator for Youth and Family Services. “Eventually it expanded into the youth program we have today.”
The program is part of the Health Initiative’s mission to empower the underserved of Miami-Dade County.
“All of our staff play a role in interacting with our youth,” Holton said.
Children ages 5 to 18 are eligible to join the youth violence prevention program. The services provided to them are free.
“We’ve been working with the clinic since 2003, providing mental health services to the community,” said Dr. Brian L. Lewis, director of training for the Counseling Psychology Program and Institute for Individual and Family Counseling. “We provide needed mental health counseling at a young age that will have a contributing affect on the lower incidence of violence in the future,” Lewis said. He and his clinicians hold regularly scheduled hours at the Thelma Gibson Health Initiative Center, supervised by licensed psychologists, Among the clinicians are University of Miami graduate students enrolled in one of the school’s two master’s or doctoral programs.
While some of the counseling sessions are traditional, others are not. One non-traditional method utilized by Lewis involves meeting with children in the park.
“Virrick Park is where the children go for afterschool activities, so a lot of the services are provided on site there,” Lewis said. While the program helps children overcome troubles, it also creates incredible opportunities.
This past summer three local students — Keshaun Taylor, Antwon Taylor and Devon Speight — won jobs at a Coral Gables law firm.
Taylor worked for the law offices of attorney Nicholas Felzen, participating in office functions that will one day help him perform in a professional environment. He organized files, made calls to clients and saw how a law office operates.
“I think this internship will prove to be an invaluable experience for Keshaun and others in the program,” Felzen wrote in a letter to the center.
The law firm found it a valuable experience, too. “I would definitely like to hire Keshaun or another intern from the program next summer,” Felzen’s letter concluded.