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Services

Youth Services

Come out and play, in a positive way. We support youth and young adults with safe, fun recreation and social activities. A youth violence prevention program with our community-based partners.

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Youth programs and activities

Friday and Saturday Night Basketball

Middle and high school youth can attend free basketball practice, skill building and game play on Friday and Saturday nights in Gresham.  

Registration and waiver required.

Friday and Saturday night basketball program

A Youth Services activity supervised by Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center.

Summer Internships

Get to know us! Paid internships for ages 16-24 usually run July-August (160 hours). We partner with the SummerWorks program. 

Examples of City internship positions

  • Community events interns 
  • Facilities tech helper 
  • Fire Department interns 
  • Parks and Rec interns 
  • Police Department interns 
  • Urban forestry intern 
  • Youth Violence Prevention intern 

Placement with the City is not guaranteed.

Apply on the SummerWorks website and request the City of Gresham.

For questions about interning with the City, contact Emon.Ghassemi@GreshamOregon.gov.

Youth Advisory Council (YAC)

The Youth Advisory Council educates and serves the Gresham community through meaningful activities, educating our peers, appreciating diversity, and developing supportive partnerships between our schools and community.

Read more about the Youth Advisory Council.

Apply online

  • Contact
  • Youth Services Team
  • Youth Violence Prevention Partners
  • Background
Contact

Your point of contact for positive youth opportunities and partnerships.

Emon Ghassemi, Youth Services Manager
Emon.Ghassemi@GreshamOregon.gov
503-618-2642

Youth Services Team

Emon Ghassemi, Youth Services Manager

Ghassemi’s work with youth includes teaching English and reading to high school students in Istanbul, Turkey.

Previously at the Immigrant Refugee Community Organization, he managed mentoring activities to immigrant and refugee middle school students. Ghassemi coordinated IRCO's Racial Equity Social Justice Middle School Mentoring and Positive Cultural Identity program.

Lily Plank, Program Technician

Esmeralda Sanchez, Program Analyst

Youth Violence Prevention Partners

Meet our community-based partners

Providing youth outreach, prevention and intervention support.

New Avenues for Youth
Services are designed to address the individualized needs and readiness of young people ages 9-24 experiencing homelessness and housing instability.

By recognizing the many barriers and challenges they face — poverty, struggles with addiction and mental health, disconnection from family due to sexual orientation or gender identity, and histories of involvement in sex trafficking, the child welfare system, and the juvenile justice system — we meet youth where they are and help them make positive change in their lives.

Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center (POIC)
For more than 50 years, POIC + Rosemary Anderson High School has helped underserved communities — primarily communities of color — through the highest quality services in alternative education, employment training and placement, and wrap-around services.

The whole-life support POIC + RAHS provides to students, families, and trainees includes intervention and prevention support for those impacted by community violence and mental health services for individuals who face trauma daily.

THE UNDERGROUND
A ministry of AS IS Church empowering young people to build physical and mental strength for life by providing access to community-based fitness programs and mentorship.

We envision a world where all young people feel strong, capable, and confident to become the best version of themselves. We use fitness to teach imperative life skills like perseverance, grit, determination, resilience, and confidence through teamwork, leadership, and goal setting to prepare our athletes to face the challenges life throws their way with grace, maturity, and strength.

Background

To address the rise in violence our community has experienced recently, the City Council approved $1 million in one-time American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding in 2021 to create a Youth Violence Prevention Program.

Youth Services goals

  • Protect young people and reduce the rise of youth and gun violence through prevention, outreach, and intervention.
  • Invest in culturally specific community-based organizations to provide support services for youth and families, including positive recreational activities and social engagement opportunities.

Youth Services is part of the larger Safe Gresham community violence effort between City leadership, Gresham Police, and the community.

Partnerships funding

The City received $2 million in grants for youth violence prevention, outreach and intervention programming through June 30, 2025. Thanks to our state representatives, state senator and City Council.

Youth Events

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