YOUTH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
Youth Community Development: Jovenes en Acción
A fundamental belief undergirding our Youth Community Development (YCD) model is that when youth are fully engaged and play an active role in their community, they are able to make better decisions about their lives, have a sense of responsibility for their actions, perform better in school, have high self-esteem, and have more options in choosing a college. Youth can play a role in influencing their community’s development and in doing so, they enhance their own capacities. We expect that teens will experience the intrinsic rewards that are gained through serving others and being engaged in changing themselves and their environment.
In our YCD/Jovenes en Acción (JEA) model we have four overarching outcomes for all of our core youth and we also have clear indicators and measurement methods for each outcome. The outcomes are:
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Youth develops positive relationships with peers and adults
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Youth communicates effectively
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Youth takes personal responsibility for his/her own success
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Youth is civically engaged
In our model, teens enter our YCD/JEA program as high school freshman and spend the first year as “rookies”. In this initial year youth begin to develop leadership skills and their project is to train for, participate in, and organize a 5K road race. After a successful first year, youth join one of the following teams: Health Career Ambassadors, Ritmo en Acción dance team, and the Youth Literacy Theatre team. In these teams youth are engaged in holistic, meaningful, community-based projects. While we have clear learning outcomes, almost all of the learning takes place in the context of working with a project team of peers to build community, address urban problems, and bring vitality to their neighborhoods. Each of our YCD/JEA teams are involved in three levels of activities that engage hundreds of their peers and family members:
Community Education: Youth are trained in a discipline, go through a rigorous certification process and then directly serve their community. For example, on our Ritmo en Acción Dance team, teens not only learn to perform Afro-Latin dance; they also learn to teach dance to their peers and younger children, thus bringing an art/discipline to hundreds.
Social Action: Youth go through a process of research, critical thinking and discussion on a particular topic that is relevant to their lives and their area of community work. Then they outreach to raise the consciousness of their peers, adults and decision-makers in the City of Boston. For example, in 2010 the Health Careers Ambassadors produced a film about the need for sex education in the Boston Public Schools; this film has been viewed by thousands of youth, parents and policy makers.
Community Organizing Campaign: All of our core YCD/JEA youth come together with staff and board members and decide on an organizing campaign each year. In a community organizing campaign, youth mobilize their peers and allies to change policies affecting youth in their schools, in their neighborhoods and throughout the City
Key Intrinsic Elements of the YCD/Jovenes en Acción (JEA) Model
Reflection and Dialogue: Within our youth teams we create a safe space where teens can reflect on their experiences as they form their identities, create strong bonds with staff and peers, and engage in community building. Through regular reflection sessions we expect that youth will develop active listening skills, experience deep contemplation, and better understand the context of their work in relation to living in a multi-cultural dynamic urban environment that has both intense challenges and opportunities for growth.
Expectations and Feedback Building: Based on our organizational values, we have developed a clear set of expectations for youth in our leadership program. The expectations we have set are very much related to basic job skills: showing up on time, not using cell phones in program, respecting peers and staff, etc. There are others that involve helping others, taking on leadership responsibilities, developing positive relationships, etc. Every two weeks, teams of youth sit in a circle and the staff provides positive feedback on their performance and mention areas of their personal and leadership growth where they can improve.
College Prep Support: The Hyde Square Task Force believes that in order to develop the next generation of urban leadership, we must provide youth with the support so that they can finish high school and succeed in college or a post-secondary education program. Therefore, we provide the following services: academic support and monitoring, SAT prep, college visits, one-to-one mentoring, financial aid counseling, college application and essay writing support. We also continue to provide guidance through their college years.
Health Careers Ambassadors Program (H-CAP)
The Health Careers Ambassadors Program (H-CAP) builds the leadership and professional skills of youth as they work to create a healthier community through education and advocacy. H-CAP began in 2004 as a career exploration program for youth interested in the healthcare field. Since then, the program has expanded to place youth in internships with local community health centers, including Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center and Brookside Community Health Center, where they receive training to become health educators and work on health equity initiatives that improve the health outcomes of our community. Currently, the HCAP youth are trained to deliver comprehensive sexuality education workshops to their peers. Additionally, they also developed a professional training curriculum for adolescent health care providers and medical students about how to deliver better services to teens. Watch our sexuality education video.
For more information on Health Careers Ambassadors Program (H-CAP), contact Cristina at 617 524-8303 x328 orcristina@hydesquare.org.
PHOTO AND NAMES OF THE 2011-2012 HCAP TEAM HERE.
Ritmo en Acción
Ritmo en Acción cultivates leaders and celebrates community through Afro-Latin and Contemporary dance. The Ritmo en Acción youth dance team began in 2001 through the vision and hard work of a teen leader with the Hyde Square Task Force. With the help of instructors from Hacha y Machete Dance Stylists, Boston’s premier Latin dance company, Ritmo en Acción has gained local and national attention. Since its founding, the program has grown from a group of six teen dancers to serve over 300 teens and children in our community. Ritmo’s 15 youth are trained as dance performers, instructors, and cultural stewards. They share their knowledge and talent with local children and adults, as well as audiences throughout Boston. Ritmo en Acción is the recipient of a 2007 Coming Up Taller Award, a prestigious award given by the U.S. President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities.
For more information about Ritmo en Acción , contact Jazmin at (617) 524-8303 x 357 or jazmin@hydesquare.org
PHOTO AND NAMES OF THE 2011-2012 RITMO EN ACCION TEAM HERE.
Youth Community Organizers
All our core youth engage in community organizing. At the Hyde Square Task Force we believe in order to become an effective organizer, a teen first needs to develop stamina and become immersed in their community. Therefore, as part of their training to become an organizer, youth must run a 5K race and also develop a skill that allows him/her to engage in meaningful community service. Through serving their communities, youth develop a clearer understanding of the needs of the low-income, minority, immigrant populations and they also develop a passion to take action in bringing justice to these communities.
Each year, all of our core YCD/JEA youth come together with staff and board members and decide on an organizing campaign. In a community organizing campaign, youth mobilize their peers and allies to change policies affecting youth in their schools, in their neighborhoods and throughout the City. Throughout this process youth engage in researching the issue, creating and implementing surveys, defining their demands, analyzing power relationships, forming strategy and tactics, identifying targets, and messaging through media. Teens and staff from our organizing team are regularly invited to cities throughout the United States to provide trainings to other youth groups.
For more information about Youth Community Organizing, contact Carla at (617) 524-8303 x314 or carla@hydesquare.org
PHOTO AND NAMES OF THE 2011-2012 YCOs HERE.
Youth Literacy Theater
Literacy is a priority at the Hyde Square Task Force and the purpose of the Youth Literary Theater team is to make reading fun and meaningful for both teens and younger children. Working with theatrical specialists, this group of teens brings children’s books to life through dramatic productions that incorporate music, relevant themes, and engaging literary activities. After creating an exciting repertoire, the teens take their show “on the road”, reaching out and engaging hundreds of younger children in Boston Public School classrooms and in after-school programs. During these productions, young children actually get to meet and interact with their favorite characters from award-winning multi-cultural children’s literature books. Through this experience, the teens examine their own attitudes towards reading and explore young adult literature as well. Our goal is to develop a life-long love of reading for both the teens and the younger children.
For more information about Youth Literacy Theater contact Matt at (617) 524-8303 x 302 or matt@hydesquare.org
PHOTO AND NAMES OF THE 2011-2012 YLTs HERE.