NEWS

The Perry County Community Task Force, organized in 1995, is a 501c3, not for profit, community organization, with an elected Board of Directors and open membership. The Task Force’s mission is to build a safe, healthy and thriving community for Perry County through inclusive partnerships from all segments of the community. The Task Force focuses on the needs of youth in our community, with a particular emphasis of assisting those who are at risk and need additional support.

The Task Force maintains several programs to assist youth:

(1). CHAMPS (Community Helping Adolescents Mature Positively & Successfully) is a mentoring program for at-risk youth in Perry County. Trained adults, who have undergone background checks, meet one hour per week in individual, after-school mentoring sessions with youth in grades K-12. Healthy activities are done with the mentees such as crafting, bowling, culinary arts, putt putt golf and many others. We do a fall service project and a summer service project where the mentees get an opportunity to help the elderly and handicapped. Statistics show that 56% of the at-risk youth who were mentored last year in Perry County improved their grades &/or maintained a B average, 67% improved their behavior or had no problems with it, and 83% improved their school attendance or had no problems with it.

(2). CHAMPS Out-of-School is an educational/support group for youth who have dropped out of school. Weekly programs are held, with topics on believing in yourself, developing job readiness skills and getting along with others. Many go on to enroll in the GED program and move into meaningful employment. These weekly sessions are held every Wednesday from 5:30pm to 7:00pm at the Perryville Area Career and Technology Center.

(3). Seeking Answers is a support group for youth, ages 16-21, who are involved with substance usage. Weekly support/educational sessions are held. These weekly sessions are held every Wednesday from 7:15 pm to 8:15pm at the Perryville Area Career and Technology Center. Post surveys indicate that 78% decrease their substance usage after completing the program.

(4). SAAS (Seeking Answers About Substances) is a support/educational group for youth ages 12-15 who are having issues with substance usage. Weekly sessions are held and 100% felt they had the strategies to address drug abuse in their lives after they completed the program. The weekly sessions are held every Thursday from 4:00pm to 5:00pm at the Community Center.

All of these programs are free of charge to the participants. The Task Force is funded through grants, local tax monies and donations. We rely heavily on local support to maintain these programs for the youth of Perry County.