Document Type
Capstone Project
Publication Date
Summer 8-27-2021
Keywords
Youth Development, Community Development, Political Science, Economic Development, Stevenson Center
Abstract
The East Bluff Community Center (EBCC)’s mission is to “foster community engagement and neighborhood stabilization by providing a vibrant place to gather.” This paper seeks to shed light on the role that community centers play in creating socioeconomic opportunities for at-risk youth in low-income, American communities. The author completed an 11-month internship through Illinois State University’s Stevenson Center in which I was placed as a Community Engagement Coordinator at the EBCC. While at EBCC, I conducted a neighborhood needs assessment, strengthened existing and built new interorganizational partnerships, and launched a building revitalization within the context of the Integrated Prevention and Early Intervention (IPEI) Model. Using youth development, community development, and economic development as lenses through which I examine at-risk youth, substantial findings indicate that community centers may be a legitimate facilitator of socioeconomic opportunity for at-risk youth.
Recommended Citation
Bourke, Grayson, "Bridging the Divide: Community Centers as a Catalyst of Socioeconomic Opportunity Cultivation for At-Risk Youth" (2021). Capstone Projects – Politics and Government. 37.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/cppg/37