Regional Spotlight: Old Brooklyn

This month's Regional Spotlight features Old Brooklyn! The spotlight allows us to highlight the amazing work of all our neighborhoods by asking them questions including their goals for the year, priorities for youth development, and more! This month, we have chosen to feature Old Brooklyn. Carlos Laboy, the Regional Coordinator of Old Brooklyn, spoke in-depth about what the center's mission is and how they are working to achieve that. The following is a Q&A with a MyCom Communications team member and Carlos. 

1. Question: What are Old Brooklyn's priorities for youth development? 

Answer: There are 3 areas that we focus our work. (1) Developing access to academic support services in and out of school for youth and young adults (2) Providing access to career exploration & development opportunities (3) Proving more connections to youth support services for both youth and neighborhood partners.

2. Question: Does OB have any plans for youth development? 

Answer: We feel our organization has a real ability to develop a career pipeline model that incorporates not only career development opportunities but also incorporate programs to support academic and social-emotional support within that pipeline. We are working to develop deeper connections with Youth Opportunities Unlimited and local employers in Old Brooklyn to make this a reality. As we develop our MyCom Steering Committee we are intentional including partners that have the expertise and pull to help us develop these programs and opportunities. 

3. Question: Who are the partners of OB? 

Answer: We have a diverse partner group that includes: South Brooklyn Library (CPL), Estabrook Recreation Center, Old Brooklyn Families Group, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Junior Achievement, Broadway School of Music and the Arts, Art House, North Pointe Ballet, Pearl Road United Methodist Church, Gateway Church, Rhodes School of Environmental Studies, William Rainey Harper, Charles Mooney, Old Brooklyn Community Schools, Cleveland Water, Youth Outdoors, and the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

4. Question: What does your neighborhood plan include? 

Answer: We have focused on developing our partner network. We have been with MyCom for a little over 2 years now, and have a solid foundation of partners. We are also working to promote youth employment opportunities in the region. We have a partnership with Youth Opportunities Unlimited and have hosted a couple of cohorts of teens. 

5. Question: What are OB’s goals for this year? 

Answer: We’re working to get the Steering Committee going. We have supported a couple of youth groups, but are hoping to have our very own youth council in 2022. We are excited to have our Making Our Own Space (MOOS) program. The program is set to begin on March 17th. We are looking forward to hosting our 3rd cohort of Y.O.U. workers. We are working to have a Job Fair in May. While not exclusive, we hope to engage with teens and young adults during the fair. We want to continue to include youth programming in our own community events. Lastly, we are working to support the development of programs at hub sites such as South Brooklyn Library and Estabrook Recreation, continuing to develop our relationship with Rhodes.