Thursday, June 19, 2008

GREAT Summer Program

GREAT SUMMER 07-1 108, originally uploaded by northsidepolice.

Officers participate with youth in low elements of a Challenge Course set up in Meachem Park last summer.

The DARE/GREAT Unit of the Syracuse Police Department has announced the 2008 Summer GREAT Program.

GREAT (Gang Resistance Education and Training) is a curriculum based on the goals of reducing gang activity and educating youth on the consequences of gang involvement.

The program is open to youth between the ages of 10-14 years old, and is being made available free of charge to participants, thanks to grants secured by the department.

The sessions are three weeks long, and offered as follows:

  • Session 1: June 30 - July 25 (no class from July 14-18)
  • Session 2: July 28-August 22 (no class August 11-15)
Classes will meet from 8:30am-1:30pm at the Hamilton Street Boys and Girls Club with lunch served daily.

Transportation will be provided from the East Fayette Street Boys and Girls Club. Parents are responsible to deliver their children to either location, and transportation will be provided from there, as needed.

Trained uniformed police officers present the GREAT curriculum to youth in a classroom setting and through involvement in a wide range of community-based activities. The objective is to impart life skills, a sense of competency, usefulness and personal empowerment to youth, enabling them to resist involvement in violence and criminal activity.

The program is intended to help students become responsible members of their communities by setting personal goals, resisting peer pressure, learning how to resolve conflicts constructively and understanding how gangs impact the quality of life.

For further information and an application, please contact the DARE/GREAT Unit at (315)442-5216. Check out the pics from GREAT 2007.

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