The Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood of Saint Paul is one of the city’s fastest growing neighborhoods (15 percent population increase since 1990 compared with a growth rate of 5.5 percent for the city over all). Families with school-age children account for much of this growth. The number of school-age children ages 5 to 17 increased by 55 percent since 1990 while the number of elderly adults decreased by 23 percent.

For every 20 public school students living in Dayton’s Bluff: 7 are Asian; 5 are White; 5 are Black; 2 are Hispanic; and fewer than 1 in 20 is American Indian. Seventy–six percent of children attending public schools are children of color. Forty percent of households in Dayton’s Bluff have children—of these households nearly half are headed by a single parent or other primary caregivers for children such as grandparents. Three-quarters of households are low-income. Crime, much of it involving juvenile offenses, is a problem for the neighborhood. According to Saint Paul Police Department statistics, Dayton’s Bluff has the second highest incidence of police calls of all 17 city neighborhoods. Dayton’s Bluff also has the highest rate of child maltreatment reports of all Saint Paul neighborhoods with 24.1 reports per 1000 compared with 16.1 per 1,000 for the city as a whole.

Support services and constructive leisure time activities have been conspicuously unavailable to young people in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood. Assessments of after-school and summer activities for local youth show that the youth programming which does exist in the neighborhood focuses on athletic and activities for adolescent males. Enrichment activities that do exist do not address the unique combination of needs of the adolescent females in the neighborhood. According to 2000 Census data, there are approximately 1,369 8 to 15 year old girls living in Dayton’s Bluff. Of the eight area schools that the Portage for Youth partners with, there are 646 Asia girls in grades 3 through 9.

QUALIFICATIONS/STAFFING

Raeann Ruth, executive director of the Portage for Youth, is also the founder and visionary for the Portage. She developed the idea for the Portage, raised funds, enlisted collaborating partners, supervises volunteers and contracted personnel, managed the building of the "Arts in the Alley" addition, and renovation of the summer camp property on Big Island.

At this point, the Portage is ready to resume its previous level of programming but has only one full-time staff person (executive director Raeann Ruth). The added responsibilities of managing the Mounds Theatre facility, along with the extra work required to re-establish programming to pre-2001 levels necessitates the reestablishment of a second full-time program position. The Portage is seeking the support of a number of funders including the McKnight and Sheltering Arms Foundation to help fund the first two years of this position until the ongoing costs of the position can be incorporated into the regular general operating budget. The new position will allow the Portage to reestablish, expand and enhance the quality and effectiveness of its programs for at-risk girls.