C. Nicole Mason to Speak at Brooklyn Community Services' Youth Action Summit

Critical issues facing at-risk youth in Brooklyn's low-income neighborhoods will be examined at Brooklyn Community Services (BCS) Youth Action Summit: Voices for the Future of Brooklyn, a panel discussion and youth action resource hub.

This community event will be moderated by C. Nicole Mason, PhD, noted policy expert, economic justice advocate and author, on February 28 at St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street in Brooklyn from 5:30pm - 8:00pm. It is free to the public.

At the BCS Youth Action Summit, panelists will examine urgent issues in education, immigration, job readiness, police community relations, crime, self-esteem and other pressing problems affecting Brooklyn's at-risk youth. There will be a Youth Action Summit resource hub, which features 23 Brooklyn youth-based nonprofits providing information, volunteer and mentorship opportunities and networking to inspire attendees to get involved in activities and programs in their neighborhoods.

Keynote speaker and moderator C. Nicole Mason Executive, PhD, Director of the Center for Research and Policy in the Public Interest (CR2PI) at the Washington Area Women's Foundation, lives between Brooklyn and Washington, DC, and the author of Born Bright: A Young Girl's Journey from Nothing to Something in America. Her commentary and writing have been featured in The Nation, Marie Claire, USA Today, ESSENCE, New York Times, Huffington Post, CNN, MSNBC and NPR.

"Children neEd Strong communities--with high quality schools, libraries, and health care facilities. They also need to feel safe, and not worry about where their next meal is coming from or if they will have a home to come to at night," Mason pointed out. "We must work together to make sure that all children regardless of where they live or socio-economic status have everything they need to survive and thrive."

The BCS Youth Action Summit will feature an impressive group of panelists who will discuss issues facing young people from underserved neighborhoods, strategies that have been impactful and methods that attendees can utilize to support youth initiatives. The featured panelists include: Bill Chong, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development; Aber Kawas, Youth Lead Organizer of the Arab American Association of New York; Kaberi Banerjee Murthy, Vice President of Programs at Brooklyn Community Foundation; Dana Edell, PhD, Executive Director of SPARK Movement and Marlon Peterson, a national social and criminal justice advocate and educator who spent 10 years in New York State prisons.

At the BCS Youth Action Summit 's resource hub, nonprofits working on youth issues in Brooklyn will be available for networking. Some of the nonprofits include: Usher's New Look, St. Nicks Alliance, Chinese-American Planning Council Inc., PAL Brownsville Beacon, CAMBA, Made in Brownsville, Children of Promise, NYC, DIGITAL GIRL INC, Per Scholas, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, 826NYC, Housing Works, Repair the World NYC, Reading Partners, viBe Theater Experience and Crown Heights Community Mediation Center.

For 150 years, BCS has been committed to providing resources, tools and support to help low-income youth in Brooklyn reach their personal goals. BCS continues this mission through conducting education, leadership and development programs that empower youth and strengthens Brooklyn neighborhoods.

Today, BCS has several leading youth programs in Brooklyn that focus on education and empowerment for over 2,000 young people, these include: Gary Klinsky Children's Centers After School Programs, BCS Cornerstone Community Centers, Youth Stand United, Youth Stand Academy and the BCS Brooklyn High School for Leadership & Community Service.

For more information on the BCS Youth Action Summit, check wearebcs.org/youth-summit. Join the conversation with Brooklyn Community Services on Facebook and also connect on Twitter and Instagram at @wearebcs.

Brooklyn Community Services (BCS) celebrates the strength of the human spirit, and in 2016, we celebrate our 150th Anniversary. Our mission is to empower at-risk children, youth and families, and adults with mental illness or developmental disabilities to overcome the obstacles they face, as we strive to ensure opportunity for all to learn, grow and contribute to ONE Brooklyn Community. To achieve this mission, we offer comprehensive and holistic services: early childhood education; youth development services and educationally rich after-school programs; counseling for at-risk families; treatment, recovery and job training to support the life goals of adults living with mental illness; person-centered rehabilitation and community living support for adults with developmental disabilities and disaster recovery case management and relief services. BCS also seeks to increase public awareness of the impacts of poverty on individuals and the community at-large. With a staff of over 500 and over 25 sites around the borough, BCS serves 13,000 people every year. Today, BCS is one of the longest serving nonprofit,non-sectarian social service providers in New York City.

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