Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Miller, Herbert Lincoln

Titel

Criminal justice and human resource development: The streetworker

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations Publishing

Erscheinungsjahr

1990

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• This study is a retrospective of an era and of an institution which began as an intervention program for urban youth. The era was the late 1960's and early 1970's in Harlem, New York and Newark, New Jersey, which was marked by intense social upheaval and changing social dynamics. Against this background existed young people unable or ill-equipped to successfully negotiate their destinies amidst a volatile and often hostile environment. The institution was the Street Academy founded to bridge the gap between "youths-at-risk" and the institutions and people with whom they came into daily contact. The Street Academy programs were designed as a vehicle to assist these youths to make the transition from social outcasts or misfits to vital members of the community. The various mechanisms used were remedial academic assistance, direct intervention and advocacy in schools, social service agencies and the criminal justice system, and exposure to alternative lifestyles. The Academies were funded by corporations, and one anomalous Academy run by an off-shoot sect of the Black Muslims. They were administered under the auspices of the New York Urban League. Changing social values and priorities precipitated the Academies' demise. This work also focuses on a conference and on a diary of streetworkers in a school setting, which are the basis for discussion of other aspects of practical implementation and methodologies for streetwork. The study also examines the relevance today of the streetworker persona. Examples of streetworkers portrayed in the study were Mother Teresa, Jesus and the author. The written study is accompanied by a videotape portraying the author's role as a streetworker in Harlem, New York.