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October 7; 1969 Mr . Charles L . Figley % Dr . Mario Hidalgo Coordinator of Youth Activ ities City Hall Honolulu. Hawaii 96815 Dear Mr . Figley : I am pleased to furnish you the followi ng information c oncerning Atlanta ' s Youth Commi sion and its overall effec:ti vene in de ling with youth problems of this city . Th Mayor and the Bo rd of Alderm n tabli h d the Youth Council in February 1966. to carry out th following sp cific obj ctive : ...____ 1. To develop community programs d control juvenil d linquency; igned to prevent and Z. To coordinate activitie of agencie devoted to the w lf re of youth nd th pr v ntion of d linquency; 3. To impl m nt prev ntiv program through 11 m an bl to th city d p rtment• nd privat gencie ; 4. To collect; correlat and di seminat inform tion, tatements. · nd data on th ubj ct of childr n nd youth; To conduct inv tig tion · nd ny nd ll other nee ry to eff ctively p rform it purpo • lt is tb mi• · ion of our Council to coordin offering direct youth • rvic nd om 30 ome 85 ctivities nci · nci • offering in• �direct services to children and youth in the Metropolitan Area . The Council serves as the overall coordinating agency for the city's Youth Opportunity Program . Said Council pulls together a Metro- Atlanta Youth Opportunity Council consisting of representatives f1>1>m several business , civic, religious, private and public groups . This Council makes recommendations to the Youth Council's Board regarding pr ogram pr iorities, d i stribution and h ours of operation. Such recommendations are made on the basis of researched and evaluated needs and gaps undertaken by the Council I s staff •.• in the areas of employment, recreation, education, .a rt, camping, transpo rtati on, volunteers, special events, social services, special programs and public relations . For your benefit, I am enclosing a copy of our 1969 Youth Oppor tunity Plan. It is my strong conviction that youth have a very essential and important role to play in any community, for youth, in fact, constitu the citizens of tomorrow. A big part of the urban problem i8 essentially a youth problem in terms of hwnan resources and development; and any urban planning must take into con ider tion this very important ingredient. 1 would recommend that youth be intimately involved in any coordinating activities aimed at helping youth. I would specifically recommend that : 1. yo~th serve ob the Board of Youth Commie ion; 2. youth serve in an advisory c pacity to your City Planning Department; 3. youth rv Education; 4. youth rve 5. youth erve Agency; 6. youth rv in an advisory capacity to your Board of s con ulta.nts to your Recreation Dep rtin nt; con ultants to your Public Employm nt consultants to th Mayor' Office . �The problem of youth unrest is certainly one to be dealt with . This is not only true in Atlanta, but is the case in every major city in the nation. Atlanta's approach to dealing with this problem centers around the . general lack of services, commitments and interest on the part of larger communities . In this respect, the Atlanta Youth Council has been very effective in getting agencies to provide more services on a need basis; the result being those youth most in need of the services, receiving it. In addition, the total community has been alerted to the pressing need for providing adequate and effective services for all youth in the Metropolitan area . It is my feeling and while all of ful involvement sary ingredient that Atlanta has been very successful in this regard the youth problems have not been solved, the successof the total com.m unity on youth problems is the necesto succeesfully solving these problems; I hope this brief explanation has been helpful to you and will assist you in planning and coordinating the various services in your city. Sincerely yours, \ I Ivan Allen, Jr, Mayor lAJr:sm �