The Girl Scouts of Greater New York is expanding its programming to serve more than 100 children who have recently arrived in the country and are residing in New York City shelters.
The organization is expanding its Troop 6000, which was established in 2017 to serve children living in temporary housing, to cater to the influx of immigrant families in the shelter system. As of last week, approximately 61,000 asylum seekers have come to the city in the past year, with more than half being in city care, according to officials.
The expansion will see the troop grow to include more than 600 girls and young women across New York City. The Girl Scouts of Greater New York serves tens of thousands of girls ages 5 to 18 across the five boroughs.
Troop 6000 began in a shelter in Long Island City with less than a dozen girls and has grown to serve hundreds of unhoused children across the city. It was named Troop 6000 since troop numbers are determined by the city’s boroughs. For instance, the 1000s are in the Bronx, 2000s in Brooklyn and so on.
The expansion will see a new site established in a NYC Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center and aims to address the social and emotional needs of newly arrived young people.
With the influx of migrants, as of April, 40% of the Troop 6000 members speak Spanish as their primary language. The program will be adapted to serve the needs of the 100-plus asylum seekers.
“The Girl Scout community in New York City always has its arms wide open,” said Girl Scouts CEO Meridith Maskara in a statement. “We are proud to adapt and expand Troop 6000 to serve recent immigrants and asylum seekers. Girl Scouting is an especially powerful force in a young person’s life any time they’re going through a period of uncertainty or change.”
Troop 6000 offers programming specifically for young people living in temporary housing, by integrating trauma-informed care and mental health training into Girl Scouts’ signature leadership program.
The scouts meet weekly for meetings and earn badges in subjects ranging from STEM to Business & Entrepreneurship. They also get to explore New York City on field trips and attend camp in upstate New York—all at no expense to families.
Like all other Girl Scout programming, Troop 6000 focuses on leadership development, equipping members with the needed skills and confidence to chart their own courses in life.
Troop 6000 is run by a dedicated team, which includes a social worker, a transition specialist to support the children as they move out of shelter, and bilingual team members to expand and enhance the organization’s ability to serve Spanish-speaking families across all Troop 6000 sites.
Since its inception, Troop 6000 has brought the scouting experience to more than 2,500 young people living in more than 20 different shelters.
