Jamal Place, a therapeutic group home
October 2nd, 2007The governor says he’s trimming pork from the state’s budget to pay for needed health coverage. But one man’s pork is another vulnerable group’s program: for Jamal Place, a therapeutic group home for preteen and adolescent male wards of the state, it means a $100,000 cut in critical revenue.Located in North Lawndale, Jamal Place offers a variety of therapeutic, counseling and training services for teens who have spent the majority of their lives bouncing from foster-home to foster-home. They also work with teachers and tutors to keep residents in school until graduation. Jamal Place teens have a graduation rate of 83% compared to 40% average of state wards. Saving some of the most difficult young men from leading lives full of violence and drugs, Jamal Place gives these young men a second chance. But with a loss in funding and a deficit of their own, Jamal Place will be forced to discontinue some of their programs.In this episode of Community, Media & You, we’ll have a conversation about the challenges facing Jamal Place and how residents are coping with their loss of state support.
Joining Thom Clark to discuss this is Jamal Place’s Executive Director, Ann Deuel, former Jamal Place resident Bobby Vasquez and current resident Robert Jones.
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