Center for Teen Empowerment - Boston, MA | Somerville, MA

TEEN EMPOWERMENT BOSTON

NEW SITE IN ROXBURY!

Teen Empowerment's newest project opened July 5, 2011, in the Warren Gardens neighborhood of Roxbury. Fourteen youth organizers are working with staff to plan and implement violence prevention initiatives, teen cafe nights, dialogue sessions, community events, and other efforts to improve their community. This new pilot project has been launched as part of TE's exciting collaboration with Higher Ground, a place-based initiative to improve youth and community outcomes in the Warren Gardens area.

"THE OPEN BOOK": BOSTON YOUTH PEACE CONFERENCE

Teen Empowerment's 19th annual Youth Peace Conference in Boston on Saturday, May 14, brought 400 youth to the Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Grove Hall for an exciting afternoon of dynamic and meaningful youth performances, workshops, and a service fair. This year's theme was "The Open Book: Same Cover, Different Stories."

Boston Youth Peace Conference flier

HOLIDAY EVENTS

Thanks to all who came to our Boston sites for the holiday events in December. TE's Egleston Square youth organizers celebrated the holidays with neighborhood families at the Holiday Fiesta on December 18. In Dorchester, neighborhood youth gathered for "12 Teens of Christmas." on December 21.

MLK SUMMER SCHOLARS

Teen Empowerment's Boston sites employed youth this summer through the Martin Luther King, Jr. Summer Scholars program, funded by John Hancock Financial and other sponsors. In addition, TE organized weekly professional skills development gatherings for 650 youth from nearly 100 organizations that participated in the program. See coverage of this program on NECN.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BLOCK: YOUTH PEACE CONFERENCE 2010

The 18th annual Youth Peace Conference in Boston brought 500 youth and adults to the Jeremiah E. Burke High School on May 8.

Boston Peace Conference flier

YOUTH ORGANIZING INITIATIVES

Teen Empowerment helped organize a rally for youth jobs at the Massachusetts State House on February 20 2010. Read about it in the Globe. In preparation for the rally, TE worked on a Jobs Conference to get young people involved. Check out the flyer.

Check with the site in your community for information about more upcoming initiatives.

BOSTON YOUTH PEACE CONFERENCE 2009

Boston's 17th annual conference on May 9, themed "Reality Check," was a great success. Read about it in the Boston Globe. Listen to TE's executive director discuss what can be done about youth violence on WBZ radio.

SITE EVENTS 2008-09:

The People's Movement Cafe

The Egleston Square site organized a teen cafe on March 12 at the English High School. The event included skits, rap, poetry, dance, and raffle prizes.

"Say It Loud, I'm Proud" in Dorchester

The Dorchester site brought youth together on February 19 to celebrate diversity and Black History Month.

Black History Poetry Slam/Cafe

A hundred people joined the Egleston Square youth at YPACT on February 11. This event included free food, open mic, and raffle prizes.

Adult/Youth Collaborative Dialogue

This event was held on February 4 at TE's Egleston site.

A HOOD HOLIDAY: Presents for the Present

The Dorchester site held a holiday event for the neighborhood on December 22 at the Lilla Frederick Middle School. The event featured raps, poetry, freestyle battle, skits, open mic, and toy giveaways. Many thanks to those who organized toy donations for this event: to the religious schools of Congregation Kehillath Israel in Brookline and Temple Shalom in Milton, to Joyce Krensky and to her dad, Joel Krensky of Colpitts Travel.

Teen Cafe in Egleston

The Egleston Square site drew over 120 people to this event, held at the Greater Egleston Community High School on December 18.

OG's Call from Behind the Wall

252 Bowdoin Street, Dorchester In November, our Dorchester site held two showings of "Voices from Behind the Wall," TE's 25-minute video of interviews with inmates at the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater. The inmates, who made this powerful film in order to speak to Boston youth about the reality of their lives, are Darrell Jones, Clarence McGregor, Herbie Caillot, Anthony Burton, Ricky McGee,Mark Thomas, Anthony Warren, Mack Hudson, and Justice Mohammed. The events were free and featured snacks, prizes, games, and discussion.

BOSTON YOUTH PEACE CONFERENCE 2008

Boston's 16th annual Teen Empowerment Youth Peace Conference brought hundreds of youth to the Strand Theater on Saturday, May 10. This year's theme was "Step Up to Change: From the Strand to the State House." In addition to great speeches and raps, there was a play that highlighted the differences in daily reality experienced by youth in the city and the suburbs. A highlight of the day was the TE-produced video Voices from Behind the Wall, in which inmates at the Old Colony Correctional Facility talked directly to youth about their experiences. Check our news page for articles about the conference and the video.