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Legit: Training Teens for Better Futures By Rebecca Holland, Esq. Legal Director The Osborne Association When 17-year-old Charles first came to the Legit Youth Entrepreneurship Program, he had been charged in Brooklyn Criminal Court and faced the possibility of a year in jail at Rikers Island. Fast-talking and wearing a huge chip on his shoulder, Charles thought that Legit was a waste of time and had nothing to offer him. He had dropped out of school in tenth grade and had never worked with computers. Nine months later, Charles is a leader among his Legit peers, has earned his GED, and is earning money designing Web sites as a partner in Legit Webmasters. Although he hasn’t ruled out pursuing a future in the dot.com world, his real goal is to become a chef. He's using what Legit taught him about computers to reach his goal -- doing Internet research on culinary arts programs and ordering applications on the World Wide Web. About Legit Legit was created as a federally funded pilot in 1993 to provide an alternative to detention or incarceration for teenagers who had been arrested in Brooklyn. We knew that kids make choices based on the future they envision for themselves. The teens who come to Legit live in underserved minority communities with high rates of unemployment. They want income, but lack the skills to pursue the scarce job opportunities available in their neighborhoods, or the confidence to seek work outside their communities. They look at what’s happening around them and anticipate a future of jail, violence, and early death. How Legit Works Legit’s basic elements include group and individual counseling focused on preventing violence, substance abuse, and recidivism; educational support; and a mentoring component that links adults from the community with participants to help the teens enhance their potential. But Legit goes several steps further – first by providing classes in business and entrepreneurship, and then by having the teens put that knowledge and skill into action as partners in an income-producing business. The first Legit micro-enterprises were a wholesale-to-retail business selling clothing and crafts at flea markets, and Legit Contractors, which does light contracting and home repairs. Then came Legit Webmasters. The newest business is Legit Care Packages, a mail-order business that allows inmates, friends and family to purchase food and personal items through a catalogue for delivery to prisons. Legit Webmasters A donation of computers prompted the hiring of an instructor to teach computer repair and plans to start a repair business. The teens quickly became less interested in what was inside the computers than in what they could do on them. The instructor switched gears, Legit got hooked up to the Internet, and the Legit Webmasters micro-enterprise was born. Every day at Legit there are ten teenage boys and girls designing and maintaining Web sites in HTML (hypertext markup language, the fundamental programming language of the Web) for paying customers, including small non-profit organizations such as Young Dancers in Repertory (http://www.youngdancersinrep.org) and small businesses such as Salem Truck Leasing (http://www.salemtruckleasing.com). How to Get Involved Call The Osborne Association at 718-637-6560. Three specific people to ask for: We’re on the Web at http://www.osborneny.org.
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Special Populations.... KidSmart Early Learning Program (November, 2005) Adapting to the Web - Bronx Day Habilitation Service (October, 2004) The MOUSE Squad Supports and Rescues IT in City Schools (June, 2003) Harnessing the Internet: Building Online Communities (June, 2003) Bobby Doesn't Approve of Your Web Presence: Making Your Web Site "Disability-Friendly" (April, 2002) Building a Bridge Across the Digital Divide (November, 2000) The Homeless Information Management System: Making Technology Work for Government (May, 2000) LEGIT: Training Teens for Better Futures (March, 2000) School-Based Technology Volunteer Program Helps the Disadvantaged. . . (August, 1999) Finding Information Online: When it Comes to Rehabilitation and Disabilities try NARIC (June, 1999) Computers for Learning: Empowering America's Children for the 21st Century (April, 1999) Internet-Based System Eases Court Preparation for Domestic Violence Victims (Februry, 1999) Hispanic Federations CREDIT Project (December, 1999) Making Information Technology Accessible for People with Disabilities (October, 1998) Other Articles of Interest.... Searching for Cancer Information on the Internet: A New Project in Harlem (April, 2001) Black Data Processing Associates Offers Training, Performs Community Service (October, 1999) Distance Learning and Training can be Low-Key, Low-Tech, and Low-Budget (October, 1999) Community Voice Mail Comes to New York (August, 1999) New York Cares Launches Partners in Technology Program (April, 1999) It Takes More than Computers. . .Libraries in the Information Age (December, 1998) Fill Your Tech Jobs - Free - and Can We Train Your Displaced Worker Clients? (October, 1998) |
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