|  On
the tenth of July numerous youth and youth provider organizations
joined together to form a plan that aids teens from ages
13-19 in creating a successful future. Such organizations
included the Police Athletic League (PAL), People of Color
in Crisis (POCC), and Northern Manhattan Parental Partnership
(NMPP). The aim is to establish workshops that connect the
youth to youth services. These workshops will discuss crucial
topics of teen interests such as health, education, computer
technology, violence, and financial situations. Some workshops
will also cater to HIV positive teens and will help them
contact health services and live a healthy life. This program
especially targets those who are most at risk like dropouts,
teen parents, and law-breakers.
The attendants of the meeting struggled to find ways to
keep the workshops educational and fun at the same time.
They debated on whether the dates should be on Fridays or
Saturdays. Many argued that Saturday was an inconvenient
day because it is a free day for kids and most wont show
up; they would also have to pay $4.00 for transportation.
Fridays were favored because its already a structured workday
and students wont have to pay for carfare. The only problem
with Friday as the official weekday is that some locations
do not book rooms on Fridays.
The next question that needed to be answered was: Where
should the conference be held? Some suggestions were City
College, Lerner Hall, PAL in Harlem, Riverside and other
churches in Harlem. The PAL building on 119th street is
an attractive building that already serves youth with numerous
activities but it costs almost $500 per hour to rent! This
is out of the Youth Conference’s price range. The
suggestion of a school was heavily rejected. The school
setting was thought to be uncomfortable for teens and might
scare them away. Minisink, the location of the meeting,
was also a choice. One attendant said, “ I was leaning
towards PAL because it’s prettier.” It’s
true, Minisink is not very attractive but it might have
to do.
The issue about the broad age groups involved was one of
the most difficult to overcome. The issue dealt with the
fact that the older teens will not have the same educational,
financial, and health concerns as younger teens. They decided
that they would split the program into two workshops: one
on earning money and one on saving money. The name choices
for the first workshop were “ Making Your Own Dow
“, “ It’s All About the Benjamins “,
and “ Get Your Own Paper.” The choices for the
second workshop were “ Keeping Your Benjamins “
or “ More Money, Less Problems. “
As there are differences in ages there are also differences
in future plans between college-bound teens and dropouts.
Mr. James “ Buddah “ Reddick, participant in
the Education Committee, believes that the workshops should
be both real and straightforward. He suggests classes for
those who have ruled college out of their future. These
classes may be called “ To GED or Not GED? “
This workshop would provide that young people would walk
away with an academic plan and with an up close and personal
connection to an agency or mentor that will help them follow
their plan. There will be an adult and a teen mentor present.
The teen mentor would have had to successfully complete
the high school and/or college experience. This suggestion
came from yours truly and I think that the teen mentor will
help students feel a lot more comfortable and connected
with the program.
At the end of the day, the Youth Conference appears to be
a future success. Although some decisions still haven’t
been decided, they should be taken care of in the next couple
of meetings. I have a lot of confidence in this program
but I still have doubts. It is still unclear to me how much
impact a few workshops can have on guiding a teen’s
life. This especially applies to those who are not going
to college and need a plan for a successful adult life.
We will just have to wait, watch, cross our fingers, and
hope that this program will provide a solution for New York
City youth.
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