Bayview native uses own experiences to 'remove barriers' for area youth
June 8, 2010
The Western Edition
For Gina Fromer, helping young residents of Bayview Hunters Point find work and pursue an education is not just part of her job – it’s a calling.
Fromer, the executive director of the Bayview-Hunters Point YMCA who also was once an underprivileged youth growing up in one of San Francisco’s toughest neighborhoods, was recently recognized with the Jefferson Award for Public Service, a Bay Area award for outstanding contributions to the community. Fromer has more than 35 years of experience working with children and adolescents in different local organizations.
“It made me feel good to be honored for what we do here at the YMCA,” said Fromer, who started working with the organization as a truancy case manager 10 years ago. “Here, we empower people to advocate for themselves and build community.”
She added that her passion and motivation for public service come not only from the fact that she is a native of the Bayview – where the median income is $21,000 and soup kitchens and foster care are public services most in demand – but also because she wants to break the common perception San Francisco residents have towards that part of the city.
“I’m very connected to the Bayview and committed to the betterment of this community,” said Fromer whose family called the Bayview home for more than 45 years. “We hear so much negativity, but there’s actually a lot of history here.”
Stephanie Hughes, co-founder and CEO of Faith Ministry’s Lazarus House – a Bayview-based housing project focused on intervention for emancipated youth – said she is thankful for Fromer’s support for their organization’s growth and activities.
“She’s always assisting us, providing training and getting our youth outdoors,” Hughes said. “The community I work with is very difficult, but she’s created ways to remove barriers.”
Fromer’s focus on helping the youth of the neighborhood stems from her personal background; she was born and raised in the very building the YMCA has inhabited since 2002. She attended a Catholic school where she was one of only eight African-American students.
Fromer attributes much of her social and academic success to the support she received from the Young Community Developers, or YCD – an organization that counseled and supported the local youth. Fromer got her first summer job at the age of 14, which enabled her to help support her family.
“Having an organization that young people can connect with is critical,” she said.
Fromer returned to YCD to work as a counselor at age 21 and attended San Francisco State University, where she majored in English. However, she was forced to drop out her senior year, after having her third son and struggling to balance work and school. A few years later, she married and moved to Marin County.
With the support of her husband Reed, she finally earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Dominican University in 2003.
“I really understand the importance of education,” Fromer said. “I wanted to be a role model to the young people I meet on a daily basis … and I also wanted to do that for myself.”
Reed Fromer attests to his wife’s ability to juggle her responsibilities with her studies, work and family.
“She manages well; she’s got this superwoman quality about her,” he said. “She’s accomplishing something every moment of the day.”
Reed Fromer added he believes that much of her success comes from her ability to “communicate with anybody.”
Communication was something Fromer learned on the job. After working with the nonprofit Headstart for six years and a brief stint as an insurance biller, she found her way to the YMCA, starting out as a truancy case manager, focusing on tutoring and counseling troubled youth.
“It was a little bit of everything I’d done in my career,” she said. “And all the programs were very socially innovative.”
During her time at the YMCA, Fromer has found and addressed three major issues with the youth of the neighborhood: literacy, obesity and truancy.
After finding out that the Bayview has the highest truancy rate in the city, she spearheaded the Center for Academic Reentry and Empowerment – an academic recovery program that helps children and youth realize the value of education and ensured that truants would be able to go back to school, improve academically and eventually graduate.
Fromer encouraged case managers to accompany the students back to school to assure their attendance in class and also partnered with different local schools and the city itself. The program has expanded to more than 30 students a year, 10-12 of whom are now graduating.
“My dream is for the [program] to become the one-stop shop for kids who need more credits to finish school,” she added.
Fromer also has worked to procure more grants for the YMCA from the city, to partner with other local organizations and to improve the facility by adding child and teen development centers.
One of Fromer’s most rewarding experiences came recently when “Nancy,” a former truant whose case Fromer had handled, returned to the YMCA after several years to volunteer.
Fromer said that Nancy (whose real name Fromer withheld to protect her identity) was involved in gangs and came from a troubled, immigrant home.
“She went off back to school, but I heard she later dropped out,” Fromer recalled.
Then one day, Nancy came into the Bayview YMCA asking to see the director so that she could sign up as a tutor. Fromer immediately recognized her and approached the young lady.
“Nancy told me, ‘If it weren’t for you, I’d probably be dead,’” Fromer said.
The director added that stories like Nancy’s are what inspire her to continue her work in the community.
“I don’t have any bad stories, just wonderful experiences,” Fromer said. “We don’t save every child because there are so many variables in each child’s life. But we are still in the business of saving lives and helping people on a daily basis.”
Sun, 30 May 2010 15:12:00
By Pauline Guiuan
see the original article here
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