Operating in the Outback Youth programs in a county with one traffic signal By: Jennifer German Deputy Director Gulf Coast Workforce Board Region 4

Population of Gulf and Franklin Counties Although my region is home to some of the worlds most beautiful white sand beaches, it is also very rural in places. Two of my three counties have less than 20,000 citizens living in them. As a matter of fact, after you subtract their prison populations, even the more populous of the two has fewer than 13,000 residents.

Poverty Rates Comparison Poverty rates are pretty high, as they often are in rural counties. So, finding kids to serve isn’t hard. Making the money stretch and the program meaningful is.

Another Challenge of Serving in the Outback Distance from Bay County to Gulf County= 36 miles Travel time from Gulf County= 2 hours Central Time Zone Eastern Time Zone 1 hour lost in travel, just to the next county

Another Challenge of Serving in the Outback Central Time Zone Distance from Bay County to Franklin County= 72 miles Travel time from Franklin County= 2.25 hours Eastern Time Zone

What is working for us? Look for money that targets your group/community

Gulf County Funding Opportunities Jessie Ball duPont Capacity Building Fund City of Port St. Joe Food Stamp Employment Training Welfare Transition Workforce Investment Act In-Kind: Washington Improvement Group

Franklin County Funding Opportunities Department of Juvenile Justice Franklin County Health Department Welfare Transition Workforce Investment Act And don’t forget corporate giving opportunities!

So, we have a little money, but we don’t have access to a lot of support and resources as we do in larger communities. This sign is painted on the side of a building in North Port St Joe in Gulf County. I have heard people describe this area of the city as looking like a third world village and I used to think the sign painter was being ironic. Maybe…

Native Opportunities You may be in the outback, but when you look around you find there are assets there you can make meaningful. These kids and young adults are wading in St Joseph’s Bay, which borders Port St. Joe. They have a big seine (pronounced “sane”) net and are rounding up marine life specimens to lean about this part of their local environment.

Marine Science Day! The happy-looking adult in this picture is the public school teacher who developed the curriculum, trained our staff on the details of the activity, and oversaw two field trips on the bay. One day was for our younger children ,5-10 year olds. The second day the 11-16 year olds went out. Both days our camp interns participated. This activity is from our summer component which was made possible by duPont Fund dollars that allow working with much younger kids than we usually serve.

Title This building in on the list of Florida African-American Heritage Cultural Sites Port St. Joe schools were desegregated in 1970. Up until that point, the Washington School, in nearly 100% African American North Port St Joe, served those kids. After being closed as a school the facility continued to be important to the community, but not used regularly. The city had restored it to a degree, established recreational grounds, and ultimately rented it to us for a nominal fee. During the summer we hold a leadership camp for 5-17 year olds and an internship program for 18-21 year olds. The gym is open after school several days per week, our computer lab is also open and our summer kids continue to participate with us year round.

Franklin County Water We also have some wonderful water in Franklin County, home to Apalachicola Bay and the World-Famous Apalachicola Oyster. We have a lot of festival-related opportunities to participate in and develop some civic pride, teamwork skills and relationships with employers in the community, which in some cases lead to jobs.

Estuary Fairy This young lady was a participant in our Franklin County youth program ,T.I.G.E.R.S, which stands for Teens in Gear Enjoy, Realize, and Succeed. I had to share this photo from the Carrabelle Riverfront Festival of Cayce Daniels, who was appearing as the Estuary Fairy. Please not the sea sponge headdress and crab net wings.

Art Tied to Marine Science Project But it isn’t all field trips into the bay and festivals in the Outback. Since we incorporate Welfare Transition Teen Pregnancy Prevention money into our programs, and most teen pregnancies are initiated (oddly enough) in the hours after school, we focus on after school, weekend, and holiday programming.

Hire Local! But let me back up. The key to successful youth programs in the Outback is staff. Hire Local! This is our Gulf County Community Resource Center Coordinator, Tamlyn Smith. You’ll see her around here- during summers everyone chips in! She is posing with Case Manager Equiller Gainer. ARRRR!

Hire Local! Joe’s heavy involvement with Gulf County's business community and civic organizations bring great opportunities to us for internship sites, volunteers and miscellaneous other resources. She knows nearly everybody!

Partnerships In Franklin County, we have a strong partnership with the Franklin’s Promise Coalition and although they aren’t a youth provider for us, they are people we turn to when we need connections to other people.

Partnerships The Friends of the Franklin County Public Library operate several youth programs that enhance or lead to the one we fund. That program is called TIGERS. The coordinator the that program also knows everyone and will ask anyone for anything,

Probably the last time I will get to use my beloved Gulf Coast Workforce Board logo, so I will close with it on the screen. Operating programs for youth in rural counties, while challenging, is doable and highly rewarding. Be creative, call on partners like the Health Department (Zumba Lessons, Healthy Eating, Teen Pregnancy Prevention, and more programming), see whatever your board members can bring to the table, and look for the inherent resources of your area.