GOING GREEN: Isles Youth Institute students are shown planting trees in Trenton alongside their Urban Agriculture staff, combining hands-on environmental work with educational opportunities. The organization’s programs provide young adults with job skills and credentials while improving the city’s environment through projects like urban tree planting and tree infrastructure development.
By Jean Stratton
Some people see a problem, and pass it by. Others don’t even see the problem. Then there are those who see the problem, and want to do something about it. These are the people who seek to make a difference, to try to make life better for others, for the community, and for the environment in which they live.
And these are the people who work with the Isles Community Development Center, which has been helping Trenton residents since 1981.
Founded by Marty Johnson and based in Trenton, its goal is to foster self-reliant families and healthy sustainable communities. According to its mission statement, ‘We design and develop effective services that support this goal and share what we learn with others who can make a difference.”
Isles (as its name suggests) develops “islands,” explains CEO Sean Jackson. “We create small neighborhoods within the larger community, and help the environment at the same time. People can live and grow successfully in the islands, and the islands can multiply.”
Good Things
“We emphasize community, where people are face-to-face, in person. They can share their ideas and experiences with each other,” points out Laura Fenster-Rothschild, Isles’ COO. “Also, at the same time we are working with our Isles program, we help to make other communities aware of what we are doing, and they can do it too.”
“Small cities can be forgotten,” she adds. “Trenton is just seven square miles, with a 90,000 to 100,000 population. There are many generational families in Trenton, and good things are happening here. A lot of people are doing great things, and we want to build on that.
“We want to develop these unique islands so that people can live vibrant lives. We need to have investment in Trenton. We need people to engage here. There are so many opportunities here.”
“I think we are at a tipping point in the city where it can have more investment and functioning businesses,” says Jackson. “This is an opportunity to see great energy circulation in the city and to explore business opportunities. Trenton is an affordable city, with a great location and train service between New York and Philadelphia. The opportunities are here. It is a helping city, and then we can also see so many good things happen with Isles.”
Among Isles’ many programs, pathways to self-reliance and confidence are very important. This is a major focus, underlying many of the different opportunities. Revitalizing communities by working alongside local residents to develop energy infrastructure, affordable and healthier homes, parks, gardens, and shared facilities are immediate challenges.
Lead Paint Hazard
Healthy living includes tackling environmental hazards, including the danger of lead paint in many residents’ homes, points out Jackson.
“Housing in the city is often vacant and abandoned,” he says. “We try to restore these, so people can have healthy living. There is a severe environmental impact with lead paint, especially in many older houses. There are 10,000 units in Mercer County, and 250,000 statewide with lead issues.
“Being exposed to lead paint affects kids’ ability to learn. If it is absorbed into the blood stream, the bones, and the brain, it can lead to learning, behavioral, and cognitive issues. It is especially serious for children under 6 years old. We don’t just want to put a Band-Aid on the problem. We want to change lives. Working with environmentally-friendly and energy efficient products, we can help make a difference.”
After testing more than 2,500 homes, Isles has been able to remediate and abate home hazards at a low-cost, and educate residents about protecting their health. Based on this learning and experience, Isles helps others, including policymakers, to apply the same approaches in other settings.
Isles created the New Jersey Healthy Homes Training Center to train and certify home health workers, contractors, building inspectors, and other professional networks that can improve community health.
Other Isles programs include Build Wealth, through innovative financial services and loans that help restore credit and increase savings. With tools and training, Isles prepares homeowners to buy and/or protect their home from foreclosure. It also builds homes for ownership, and develops innovative ways for people to become more financially resilient. The Isles Financial Solution program helps families tackle unsustainable debt, while offering a combination of training and counseling services.
Two other important Isles programs are the Youth Institute and the Garden Network.
HAPPY GRADUATION!: Graduates of the Isles Youth Institute Class of 2025 celebrate their achievements at a ceremony held earlier this year. The longstanding program provides young adults with education, workforce training, and industry certifications to help them build successful careers.
A New Way
As its information statement reports, Isles started its Youth Institute in 1994 in response to the declining level of educational achievement and the lack of opportunities for gainful employment for young people in Trenton. According to data from the N.J. Department of Education, dropout rates in Trenton were higher than those in the rest of the state.
“We found that the traditional high schools are not working for a lot of students, and they drop out,” explains Chantea Hobson, executive director of the Isles Youth Institute. “The reasons vary greatly. Some students only read at a fourth-grade level — reading and math are the two main areas where students are falling short — and 30 percent of our students are homeless. We needed to find an alternative way to meet their needs, a new way of doing things. We want to change the system so that it works for the people.”
Hobson has guided the Youth Institute to a series of successful outcomes. Because the students have not prospered in their previous high school situation, the program offers a new approach. Participants are 16 to 24 years old, and come to classes Monday through Friday.
“We have a small class size, including 10 to 12 students,” says Hobson. “They are held at the Isles Trenton headquarters from 9 a.m. to 2:30. They take four subjects, including algebra, reading, and social studies, and classes are led by teachers and experts in their field. The students also participate in public speaking every day, and in addition vocational classes in construction and nursing are available. They also have opportunities for apprenticeships, and they also take part in a give-back program, including helping out in the community.”
The outcomes have been remarkably successful, with an 85 percent graduation rate.
“After they have passed all the exams, we have a graduation ceremony,’ explains Hobson. “We have graduated 1,200 students in the program, and a number of them go on to further education. We want them to meet their maximum potential, so they can have healthy, productive lives.”
Visual Enrichment
Another program that is similarly dedicated to helping people find a new path to success is the Isles Garden Network/Youth Gardening program. Engaging students from kindergarten through their teen years and beyond in agriculture, environmental, and food education is a major focus.
Vacant lots have been turned into gardens, which also helps to deter crime rates. A series of gardens have been created throughout Trenton, offering visual as well as intangible enrichment.
“We have 250 families who are involved with the gardens and also cooking programs,” reports Jason Allen, Isles managing director of Community Planning and Development, who oversees this program. “We want people to be self-sustaining. When they come to work in the gardens together, to grow fruit and vegetables, they also learn about healthy eating. They come from all levels of the city, and they see they can turn empty, abandoned spaces into something very positive.”
These gardens have numerous positive aspects. Many Trenton residents face health challenges because of lack of healthy food access. According to studies, the growing rate of obesity has reached epidemic proportions in New Jersey, especially in lower income communities. It is very prominent among ages 3 to 19.
Through its gardening and growing food program, Isles is able to demonstrate the significance of growing food locally to improve nutrition, reduce the cost of feeding families, and teach children about the essential connection they have to the earth.
Hands-On
Isles works with teachers and students in more than 20 schools in the Trenton area. The Isles staff also works directly with 700-plus students at local gardens, after school programs, and summer camps. In addition to gardening education, Isles provides hands-on cooking workshops and classes for young people and their families.
Isles reaches its participants through a number of means. The programs includes students and young adults referred by community organizations in Trenton, also through churches, and in addition, individuals find Isles through social media.
Isles clearly is a success story in its own right, and it has also created success stories for countless individuals through its many programs. Its 144 committed and hardworking full- and part-time employees make it happen every day. But in order to accomplish such success, Isles needs ongoing support from donors at all levels.
Funding is our biggest challenge,” says Jackson. “We need donations to help us provide our services. We need and welcome donations from everyone.”
Both Jackson and Laura Fenster-Rothschild continue to be encouraged and enthusiastic about the opportunities Isles provides for so many.
“There are all those options out there,” explains Jackson. “We want our Isles participants to see those opportunities. Some of the people here have never been out of Trenton. We need to provide the training so that people can thrive.”
And, points out Fenster-Rothschild, “We have the most amazing dedicated staff from the community here. We have outstanding employees who are a gift of energy and connection that they share with us. And not only that, a number of our Isles students have come back to join our staff after they have graduated. Helping them find the path to success remains our mission.”
For further information, call Isles at (609) 341-4700. Visit the website at isles.org.