What are the Summer Urban Programs?
Each summer, approximately 150 college students live and work in various communities in Boston and Cambridge. Serving over 800 youth ages 6 to 13, the summer programs consist of a morning of curricular, classroom-based enrichment and afternoons of field trips in and around Boston. Each camp uses the city as a classroom without walls, and the summer culminates in a show and final trips. An essential element of the summer program is community partnership; teens who are often former campers are hired as junior or senior counselors, and parents and community leaders play an important role in working with the program. Many camps have been operating for decades.
What is SUPport?
SUPport staff consists of a group of college undergraduates who help out with all of the Summer Urban Programs throughout the Boston and Cambridge area with tasks such as classroom substituting, fieldtrip chaperoning, van driving, preparing for PBHA-wide events, and administrative tasks. They also help plan a number of fun activities, such as our Midsummer Celebration, weekly barbecues, and overnight camping trips. SUPport is a dynamic role with flexible scheduling that requires carrying out a wide array of tasks in different environments.
SUP runs…
• Cambridge Youth Enrichment Program (CYEP)
Three camps based in Cambridge housing developments.
• Roxbury Youth Initiative (RYI)
One camp in the Academy Homes & Orchard Gardens housing developments in Roxbury.
• Mission Hill Summer Program (MHSP)
One camp in the Mission Hill housing development.
• Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment (BRYE)
One camp for recent immigrants and refugees in the Dorchester community.
• Chinatown Adventure (CHAD)
One camp in Chinatown.
• Franklin I-O Summer Program (FIO)
One camp in the Franklin Hill & Franklin Field developments of Dorchester.
• Keylatch Summer Program (KSP)
One camp based in Villa Victoria and other neighborhoods in the South End.
• South Boston Outreach Summer (SBOS)
One camp in various developments located around South Boston.
• Native American Youth Enrichment Program (NAYEP)
One camp in Jamaica Plain for the Native American community of Boston.
• Refugee Youth Summer Enrichment (RYSE)
One evening ESL program for refugee teens from around the greater Boston area.