Youth and families are empowered when:
| Our Youth and Family Empowerment Program is a unique program that uses a combination of methods for strengthening the lives of youth and their families to encourage productivity, emotional healing, and healthy interaction.
OAM reflects the needs of those we serve by combining various support methods, consistently teaching life skills, stressing self-reliance and positive growth in a safe, supportive, and structured environment. OAM strongly believes in the broader, “holistic”, model that we use in our Youth and Family Empowerment Program. It has been proven that youth respond well and experience sustainable change when they are involved in a program that goes beyond an educational focus, but also coaches on life skills and self development, while including support for the whole family. Many of the youth not only go on to increase their academic performance, but also to do well in life, holding good jobs, and actively participating in their communities.
OAM works towards long-term sustainability and well being of families by strategizing to engage individuals in their own personal development. Studies have proven that programs and/or services are most effective when individuals are involved in their own change. We encourage our participants to make progress for themselves, as opposed to a traditional "needs-driven" approach. We teach our families to work within their own unit, with the help of other resources, for the answers that they seek. With our youth focus practices, coupled with our family and parenting support component, we are able to help at-risk youth to improve their pro-social functioning through cognitive self-change, life skills, and positive use of their leisure time. |