Programs & Services

Service Recipients

Helping Inner City Kids Succeeds ( HICKS) primarily impacts 300 youth and families annually. We typically work with young men and women in underserved communities between the ages of 12 and 21 and provides creative learning activities for grades 2-6. The majority of our service recipients resides in lower income housing areas and surrounding communities. Our constituents also include the parents and families of the youth with serve.

The young people we serve often belong to communities who suffer from the social impact of crime, violence, drug abuse and the economic impact of poverty. HICKS has effectively implemented quality programming to prevent and steer youth from becoming victims of their environment to achieve a higher calling by providing opportunities not found in disadvantaged communities, and gives youth who have made mistake negatively impacting their lives a chance to find self-worth and apply hidden abilities to fruitful activities creating opportunities for social, academic and economic advancement.

Programs and Services

Hicks are currently working independently and in partnership with other entities to provide quality community based programming such as:

Hicks "A Teams"- The A Team is designed to formulate a group our talented tenth and place wraparound service around them to keep them encouraged with the resources they need to further their dreams. Most of these youth have been in Hicks programs for about two years and have matriculated to college and/or trade school. they have displayed the tenacity it takes to rise above the rest. We use these youth as Hicks mouth piece of our success stories and leadership group to groom and train their peers.

Mentoring

Hicks currently has a contract with DYRS through the Lead Entity to provide mentoring to provide mentoring for some of the most highest risk youth in Washington DC and Prince Georges Country Maryland. We believe that young people imitate what they see. As a result, we have been very serious and intentional about about our movement to cultivate the minds of our youth by being the examples we want them to be. We primarily serve East of the Anacostia River in Wards 7 and 8. Our goals have been to bring our services in a community that most in need. We have served in Woodland Terrace, Washington Highland (Condon Terrace), Barry Farms, Congress Park, and the Bellevue Community after one of our staff person was shot in the March 30, 2010 Southeast Massacre.

Our Focus Areas

Education
Employability
Character
Work Ethics
Skill Development
Civic Engagement
Spiritual Development
Critical Thinking

School Based Services- HICKS currently in school service to DC Public School and DC Charter School for grade level 3-12 during and after normal school hours

Conflict Resolution/ Peer Mediation
Visual, Performing andMedia Arts instruction
o Environmental Services and Studies (In partnership with Howard

University)

o Life Skills

o College Prep Life Skills

o Behavioral Administration, Hall Monitoring

o Counseling (group, one on one, family)

o Teen Parent Support Group

Ø  Going Green Initiative – Studies show communities that have degraded social and economic environment have higher rates of crime, violence,

and drug abuse, litter and pollution. Usually these combined sewage over flow spouts spew trash in these communities rivers worsening the water quality and coal based power plants worsen the air quality causing more frequent cases of asthma and respiratory disorders. Statistics show that

the quality of a community’s social, economic and green environment is directly linked to the quality of life for the members of that community. HICKS believes that we should act immediately in mobilizing people and communities in environmental and energy sensitive programming and initiatives that increase awareness and involvement in activities to productively participate in resolving environmental and energy issues facing Washington, DC and abroad.

Ø  Workforce Development – HICKS works with teenagers and young

adults residing in various housing projects and surrounding communities

in the District of Columbia to provide job training and placement opportunities. Life skills and social skills are also attained during these trainings.

Ø  Healthy Expressions through the Arts – a community based youth oriented fine arts program teaching youth to identify with positive community and self images using multi disciplined art forms. Participants use Fine Arts, Media Arts, Music Arts, and Cultural Studies to promote healthy behaviors and a create positive peer influences.

Ø  Youth Enterprise Build – After HICKS community arts clubs create a series of masterpieces, its time to decide what they will keep and what

they will sell. Then its time to decide how much they will pay themselves

             or reinvest into the club. Meanwhile some one has to be the manager, the
             accountant and so forth.