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Family Center Forming Program For Youth

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 30, 2008

BRANDON - Teens often complain that adults design programs for them without their input.

One forming in Brandon gives the youths an opportunity to design their fun while serving their community and learning leadership skills.

The Brandon Family Support and Resource Center and the Hillsborough Youth Collaborative will host a teen movie night from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday as a kickoff to a new program designed with teens in mind. Both programs are funded by the Children's Board of Hillsborough County.

The center also is forming a teen council that will plan outings such as bowling, skating and leadership events for high school students.

"This is a next step for the resource center," said Director Eva Ruiz. "I'm really excited about it."

The resource center, at 1277 Kingsway Road, offers services to parents with young children, people trying to learn English and computer skills and students who need tutoring.

The teen program will complete the spectrum of opportunities at the center, offered free to the public, Ruiz said.

The center hosted a teen bash in August that drew about 40 students, she said. That gathering helped gauge interest in the community. "We only expected about 10 kids, so we were thrilled."

Teens discussed transportation issues and the need for workshops to teach life skills such as job interviewing and checkbook balancing.

"We want to offer those kinds of activities here at the center and with partners, like BayLife Church," she said.

Youth Collaborative, which has student members from every high school in the county, will help organize events and craft seminars, said program Director Jennifer Hilton Montero.

"It's all about getting teens to rally around community service, talk about issues and realize they can be leaders and can be active in their communities," Montero said. "They can get together and have fun but also talk about important issues in their lives."

The collaborative also promotes diversity, she said.

"We promote respect between cultures, religions and races, and this will be our kickoff event in Brandon."

Although it is not mandatory, Ruiz said organizers can better plan for Saturday's movie night if people planning to attend call ahead. She can be reached at (813) 740-4634. Teens can also send information to Montero at jmontero @communitytampabay.org, on the Internet site facebook at Hillsborough Youth Collaborative or at MySpace/HYCCTB.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 657-4532 or at yhammett@tampatrib.com.

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