Pathway to Resilience Launches in Cleveland

Pilot Program Aims to Steer At-risk Youth towards Employment

CLEVELAND–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#pathwaytoresilience—Boys
& Girls Clubs of Cleveland and Resilience
Capital Partners today launched Pathway to Resilience, a
groundbreaking skills and training program to provide at-risk teens and
young adults with a pathway toward meaningful employment. Launched as a
three-year pilot program, Pathway to Resilience will serve at-risk and
gang-involved young people aged 17½ and older.

The first pilot program will select two groups of 10 young people to
participate in an intensive, six-month career readiness and mentoring
program that combines job skills and literacy instruction with
extracurricular activities such as athletics and music. After completion
of the training program, participants will be eligible for employment
with sponsors of the program, which will include large and small
Cleveland-area employers.

The program’s launch comes as Cleveland, despite progress, continues to
face significant challenges, according to a 2015 whitepaper
by Cleveland’s Collaborative on Youth Violence Prevention:

• Cleveland was the second-poorest city in the U.S. in 2014 and has the
third-lowest high school graduation rate (34%) among the 50 largest
cities in the nation.

• The violent crime rate in Cleveland (1,384 per 100,000 persons) was
triple the national average of 403.65.

• During the period 2010-2014, Cleveland saw 4,794 arrests of people
aged 15-25 for murder, robbery and felonious assault.

“Pathway to Resilience is what is needed as an interdiction tool that
will lead to prevention and reduction of crime,” said Cleveland Mayor
Frank G. Jackson. “The key to this program is support from local
businesses and corporations partnering with Pathway which will lead to
employment and better choices for our youth.”

A Different Approach

The Pathway to Resilience program is based on innovative research
on gang intervention conducted by the late Dr. Irving Spergel and
sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention that showed that the
most effective intervention strategies combine policing, mentoring and
social services.

In order to qualify for Pathway to Resilience, potential participants
will undergo assessment testing designed to gauge the needs and risks of
those who wish to participate in the program. Potential participants
will come from among young people currently case-managed by the
Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance, a subsidiary of Boys & Girls Clubs of
Cleveland.

“Pathway to Resilience builds on our ongoing programs and will provide
Cleveland youth with intensive job skills training that will offer them
a pathway towards employment and away from gang activity,” said Boys &
Girls Clubs of Cleveland President and Chief Executive Officer Ron
Soeder.

Added Steven H. Rosen, co-chief executive officer of Cleveland-based
Resilience Capital Partners, “As Cleveland looks to a bright future, too
many of our young people are at risk of being left behind, lacking
necessary social and work skills and vulnerable to violence and gang
activity. We are proud to support Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland as it
builds a pathway to resilience for our city’s youth. Our contribution
will be paid off in stronger families and a stronger community.”

“Pathway to Resilience will offer Cleveland’s young people that most
precious commodity: Hope for a better future,” said Peter J. Elliott,
United States Marshal for the Northern District of Ohio. “Opportunity
can break the cycle of despair and violence that has trapped so many in
the past.”

Career tracks being considered include the light manufacturing,
information technology, construction, healthcare, hospitality and
maintenance industries, with the intent that participants could even be
trained to operate their own businesses.

“The best way to defeat poverty is with a good job. Pathway to
Resilience will help our young people get on a career path to success,”
said Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish.

Noting current conditions in Cleveland, Soeder added that Boys & Girls
Clubs recognizes that working with at-risk and gang-involved youth poses
challenges. He said some of the young adults who will participate in
Pathway to Resilience have come into contact with the juvenile justice
system; may need intensive academic support in order to improve their
literacy and math skills; and may lack access to professional clothing
and dependable transportation.

In order to meet the logistical and lifestyle needs of participants in
Pathway to Resilience, the program is seeking to partner with local
professional organizations, colleges and transportation providers.
Potential corporate partners and sponsors and individual volunteers can
email pathway@resiliencecapital.com
or call 1-216-360-7254 to become involved or pledge their support.

“The characteristic that most reflects the values of Cleveland is resilience.
We understand the role that resilience plays in changing lives and
transforming communities, and we are glad to play a role in sponsoring
Pathway to Resilience, a vital new initiative that brings that quality
to Cleveland’s young people,” said Bassem A. Mansour, co-chief executive
officer of Resilience Capital Partners.

Additional support for Pathway to Resilience is being provided by the Cleveland
Foundation, James Vaughn, III and Cintas.

About Resilience Capital Partners

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Resilience invests in niche-oriented
manufacturing, value added distribution and business service companies
with sustainable market positions and a clear path to cash flow
improvement. Resilience targets platform businesses with $25 million to
$250 million in revenues across a broad range of industries where it can
improve a company’s operations, competitive positioning and
profitability. Resilience manages in excess of $625 million for its
global investor base which includes pension funds, insurance companies,
foundations and endowments, fund of funds and family offices. For more
information, please visit www.resiliencecapital.com.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland

Founded in 1954, Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland serves more than 8,600
youth annually at 15 locations in Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, East
Cleveland and Garfield Heights. The Clubs provide a safe place for
children to learn and grow, to develop ongoing relationships with caring
adult professionals, to engage in life-enhancing programs and to create
a culture of hope and opportunity. For more information, visit us at www.clevekids.org.

Contacts

The Hubbell Group, Inc. for Resilience Capital Partners
Constance
Hubbell, 781-878-8882
or
Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland
Ron
Soeder, 216-883-2163
President/CEO
rsoeder@clevekids.org