Thank you so much for having us! It was an amazing site visit for our international delegates!
On June 20th, 2024, Youth Guidance welcomed and hosted Chicago Sister Cities International delegates from 7 sister cities: Casablanca, Morocco; Durban, South Africa; Galway, Ireland; Hamburg, Germany; Kyiv, Ukraine; Osaka, Japan; and Paris, France. Delegates were able to learn about the great work of Youth Guidance and were able to participate in activities that provided them with a taste of what our youth experience as part of a BAM and WOW circle. At Youth Guidance, one of our core values is that “Being our best is an ongoing process”. There is much we can learn from one another, and it was a genuine pleasure to engage in dialogue regarding how each sister city approached social services and having multifaceted perspectives and sectors in one space. We enjoyed sharing our approach, our work, and our challenges with delegates and answering their thoughtful questions. As an Osaka Committee Member of Chicago Sister Cities International, I know firsthand the value of these international learning connections. In the spirit of exchanging knowledge within the sphere of social services, here are but a couple of things I learned. 1) Terms we use for social services are not the same worldwide (ie. school-based counseling, school social work, counseling). 2) Funding social services can be tricky—in one country, government funding sets strict standards for services regarding what services can be provided, the number of services an individual can receive, and the hours provided to each program participant. Accepting government funding also includes the inability to fundraise as this is considered “profit”. At Youth Guidance, the myriads of programming we offer in Chicago and throughout our expansion sites nationwide, are funded from different sources, this would be quite a challenge. I want to conclude by highlighting that Youth Guidance is celebrating 100 years of impact! To learn more about the amazing work we do at Youth Guidance, please visit us at https://lnkd.in/gfVsbj3F. Many thanks to Karissa Perez, Nina Goad, Adrienne Tongate, Anel Montes Marchan, Mirah Z., Maya Meade, Kathryn Engel, Masami Takahashi at Chicago Sister Cities International and World Business Chicago for granting us this opportunity. This year marks 28 years of Chicago’s social service exchanges. I invite you to learn more about Chicago Sister Cities International by visiting: https://lnkd.in/gSTgDS8D. Lastly, executing opportunities like these are a collaborative effort and I want to thank my colleagues Melody N. Brooks, MS, MSW, Operations Manager, Ngozi Harris, LCPC, WOW Director of Program and Staff Development, Dominique Rutledge, BAM Regional Manager, and Dr. Latoya Maria Thomas, Administrative Manager for being a part of this visit and providing support. I would not have been able to do this alone. #sistercities #socialserviceexchange #youthguidance
