ACE MV’s White Paper on Island Youth
Next Steps for Martha’s Vineyard: Recommendations to Expand Opportunities for Youth and Young Adults
ACE MV is pleased to provide you with the Final Report “Next Steps for Martha’s Vineyard: Recommendations to Expand Opportunities for Youth and Young Adults.“ This research report stems from our UMass Chan School of Medicine Rural Scholars project, sponsored by the Dukes County Health Council. Our focus was to identify service gaps, barriers, and needs of the Vineyard’s disconnected youth and young adult population, and we worked with dozens of community stakeholders to develop these comprehensive and formal recommendations.
We hope these recommendations will be embraced by you, your organization, and our community partners as we all strive to improve the lives of our Island’s youth. Please share this with your team and refer to it when making decisions about planning, equity, inclusivity, education, economics, housing, workforce, and community health. Your feedback is welcome.
ACE MV Board Director Spotlight: Kim Garrison’s work profiled in Vineyard Gazette
This week, the Vineyard Gazette featured ACE MV Board Director Kim Garrison and her work to improve student mental health.
“There’s a lot of challenges for many of our families,” she told the Gazette. “Substance use. Housing is a huge crisis. The pandemic. … We’re officially in a youth mental health crisis.”
ACE MV Wins Workforce Training Grants
Reprinted from The Vineyard Gazette Jan 5 2022:
ACE MV (Adult and Continuing Education of Martha’s Vineyard) has been awarded four new grants to support education and training for Island workers and youths, according to an announcement from the organization this week.
Grants from the MV Bank Charitable Foundation and the MV Community Foundation will fund ACE MV’s Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Program. The bank’s charitable oundation also provided funding for an additional Medical Interpreter Course, to train bilingual Vineyard residents in ethical and effective interpreter services for hospital, clinic and Covid site language needs. These grants will significantly lower the cost of tuition for each student who enrolls, according to the announcement.
A grant from the Couch Family Foundation will support ACE MV’s Youth Workforce & Career Pathways programming for the Island’s high school youth and young adults. And with a grant from Santander Bank Foundation, ACE MV will continue working closely with the high school, the charter school and young adults up to age 26 to provide free workshops and learning opportunities, especially in financial literacy and career readiness.
Rural Scholars findings featured in Vineyard Gazette
Rural Scholars Find Limited Options for Island Young Adults
In past years, Rural Scholars teams have examined Islandwide health issues including homelessness, aging, reproductive health care and substance use disorders.
This time, at the request of community education provider ACE MV, the future health care providers focused on conditions for Islanders aged 16 to 26 who may be disconnected from the larger Vineyard community.
“The young adult population is one of the least served on Martha’s Vineyard,” ACE MV executive director Holly Bellebuono said, as she introduced the UMass team to about 40 people who turned out for Monday’s presentation in the regional high school library.
ACE MV to Host 2021 Rural Scholars
We are excited to share that ACE MV has been selected by the Dukes County Health Council to host the 2021 Rural Scholars. Nursing and medical students from UMass Medical School are traveling to Martha’s Vineyard to conduct research that aims to benefit the MV youth population, by collecting information that clarifies how disconnected youth ages 16-26 experience life on MV and what services/supports they need/desire to actualize their professional and educational aspirations. Disconnected youth, as defined for this study’s purpose, are those young persons who are not currently enrolled in high school or post-secondary education and/or are currently unemployed.
To date, no large-scale study or evaluation has been able to capture the educational, professional, and personal experiences of this population. The outcome of the study will be shared with the Martha’s Vineyard community on November 1, 2021 and the results will allow various stakeholders to use them in building programs and services for this population, including workforce development. Monday, November 21, 5pm-6:30pm at MVRHS Library. All are welcome to attend.
How Employers and Educators Can Help Teens Avoid Career Dead-Ends This Fall
by Nancy Hoffman, ACE MV Board Chair and Senior Advisor at JFF
“This summer should be a learning moment enriched with work experiences that serve as living career exploration laboratories.”
Today’s job market may have teens seeing nothing but dollar signs, but it presents families, educators, employers, and even policymakers with an opportunity to help young people understand the economy and think critically about their long-term employment and training options. Read more at JFF.org
ACE MV Medical Interpreter grads featured in Vineyard Gazette
Photos by Jeanna Shepherd. Read the article here.
Take Online and Remote Early Childhood Education classes at 4Cs
Interested in a certificate or degree in Early Childhood Education? Check out this online program from Cape Cod Community College offered to Martha’s Vineyard residents. Summer classes start June 7! Click the image below for more information, or contact Deb Maher at dmaher@capecod.edu or 508.367.5792.
