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Henson Ridge
Youth Leadership Council
 The Henson Ridge Youth Leadership Council (HRYLC) was developed in January of 2007. Its mission is to reach a carefully selected group of creative, outgoing, and intelligent young people with various backgrounds from the Henson Ridge community and surrounding areas, equip them with leadership and life-training skills, and empower them to be leaders in their community who have a positive effect on their peers.
From a pool of approximately fifteen applications that were distributed, ten young people were selected to represent this community as the HRYLC. As members of this council participants must adhere to the rules outlined in the East of the River Clergy Police Community Partnership, Inc. (ERCPCP) employee handbook, adhere to additional rules that the members develop which are specific to the site, excel academically, attend school everyday, show improvement in behavior, and participate in a number of community based activities and events.
 We believe in meeting the young people where they are. With that said it is not pertinent that the participants have exceptional grades or behavior at the start of the program. Ideally, the goal is for the young people to progress as a result of their participation in the HRYLC. In addition to the covering of a curriculum instilling leadership and life-training skills, the members are required to attend workshops aimed at addressing many of the concerns and issues that teens are faced with today, tutor and mentor younger children from a partnering organization, and attend field trips that are both educational and recreational. As a supplement to the curriculum participants have a journaling exercise twice a week in which they listen to songs that stimulate thoughts, ideas, and emotions. The idea of this exercise is to help them to express themselves through the art of writing.
As an incentive to participating with the HRYLC, members who have consistently participated and have assisted with the advancement of the program receive a stipend every two weeks. The purpose of giving this small stipend is to provide positive reinforcement by rewarding the hard work that these young members put forth. In addition to the stipend, members receive community service hours for their participation in the development and execution of community events, and attend all field trips free of charge.
For more information about ERCPCP's work in Henson Ridge, please contact
Eric Chapman
echapman@ercpcp.org
(202) 373-5767
East of the River Clergy Police Community Partnership, Inc.
4105 First Street, SE · Washington, DC 20032 · (202) 373-5767 phone · (202) 373-5769 fax
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