We are committed to providing our students with the safety resources they need during an Urban Program. And we have an excellent track record - in more than 30 years, we have never experienced a major injury on site.*
Though there are risks in our program’s neighborhoods, we do everything we can to minimize those risks.
We make sure our students know who to contact in case of emergency at each program site, and our staff are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
We thoroughly instruct our students in safe practices for living in their neighborhoods; every program has a safety training session as part of their orientation. Students are expected to adhere to a strict curfew, and are instructed always to walk with at least one other student from the team. Each program has additional safety rules based on that site's context.
Our Urban Programs have built relationships with the people living in the communities where are students are staying. These neighbors act as guides for our students, and look out for their safety. Many Urban Program staff live in these neighborhoods as well, and have first-hand insight into best safety practices for their communities.
*Some students participating in our programs have required medical attention. We have had students get dehydrated, catch the flu, or sprain an ankle during our programs. While unfortunate, these injuries and illnesses were not the result of violence or aggression in their neighborhoods, but were accidents that could have happened anywhere.
