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RIVERS OF. HOPE <br /> <br />(612) 441-0792 <br />Elk River Office <br />Sherburne County <br /> <br />(612) 682-6424 <br />Buffalo Office <br />Wright County <br /> <br />1-800-439-2642 <br />Outside the Metro <br />dialing area <br /> <br />February ll, 1997 <br /> <br />Dear Mayor Duitsman and Council Members, <br /> <br /> Thank you for the opportunity to share our needs and concerns for this community. You <br /> received a letter in October describing our services and growth since the city of Elk River helped <br /> us get started in 1989. Now we would like to emphasize the successes and needs of our Youth <br /> Advocacy Program since we know the City of Elk River is also committed to building healthy <br /> families and a safe community for our young people. <br /> Rivers of Hope's Youth Advocacy Program is a violence prevention and early <br />intervention program which provides weekly educational support groups and individual <br />advocacy sessions to "at risk" young people in grades 7-12. This service is provided at Elk River <br />Area Senior High School, Salk Junior High and other secondary schools in Sherbume and <br />Wright counties. Our Elk River based youth advocate worked with 143 students in 1996. The <br />following student and staff evaluations reveal the effectiveness of our work. "I learned to handle <br />my problems in a safer way." "I also learned how to take out my anger instead of punching walls <br />or something." "[Support group] builds up my self-esteem a lot, and you learn what to do when <br />something unexpected happens." "This has been an incredible service to my school", James <br />Voight, Principal, Salk Junior High School. <br /> The project has been largely funded by a Juvenile Justice Grant from the Minnesota <br />Department of Economic Security. The grant is not enough to pay for the program, however, and <br />is not necessarily a continuing source of funds. A contribution from the City of Elk River will <br />assist our organization in continuing to provide quality services to young people who have been <br />affected by domestic violence. <br /> Please find attached a budget for our youth program and a letter of reference written to <br />funders by the Sherburne County Attorney, Walter Kaminsky. <br /> <br />Respectfully, <br /> <br />Margaret Ostman <br />Executive Director <br /> <br />To Build a Community Free of Domestic Violence <br /> <br /> <br />