FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 30 , 2006
Contact: PAUL PERILLIE, MAJORITY CAUCUS AIDE -- #(631) 854-4500

CAST of Thousands
Legislator Cooper Secures $43,500 for Youth Anti-Gang Program

Suffolk County Majority Leader Jon Cooper (D-Huntington) has secured $43,500 in the 2006 County Budget for an innovative program aimed at protecting high-risk youths from joining illegal street gangs. This is in addition to a $100,000 start-up grant he provided for this program in 2005. The Community and Schools Together (CAST) program provides intense outreach and case management to youngsters in grades 5 to 9 and their families from the Huntington area.

The program is run jointly by the Town of Huntington’s Youth Bureau, the Tri Community and Youth Agency and the Family Service League. Together, the enrolled students and families are provided family and youth services, as well as referral services to such programs as Project Excel, which provides employment services, academic programs, life skills and educational performances.

CAST is a free program that aims to direct at-risk youths towards alternative activities by helping them to register for sports programs, chaperoning field trips, helping develop organizational skills and providing the Homework Help Program. CAST workers are available evenings and after school, as well as during school hours, to provide counseling and referral services to students. What sets this program apart from others initiatives is that in addition to the child, family members are provided with counseling and support services. It is this type of support that will reduce the number of young children who join gangs and participate in violence.

The program currently includes 40 families and 98 children from the Huntington area. They are referred by local schools, agencies, police officers, probation officers and parents, as well as by youths themselves.

"Each family and youth is helped individually by program workers and that’s the beauty of it. The program provides many families and youths with services that prevent those at risk from falling through the cracks," said Debbie Rimler, Executive Director of Tri Community and Youth Agency. "We could not have this program without the money secured by Legislator Cooper and because of him, at-risk families and youths continue to be helped in ways that improve their lives."

"The CAST program is very important for the Huntington community because it establishes a solid foundation for young people who are at risk of becoming involved with gangs and violence," stated Legislator Cooper. "This innovative program provides participants with the confidence to depend on their own strengths, while having a strong community support system."