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

TEEN EMPOWERMENT ROCHESTER, NY

We Hired Two New Staff Members!

We would like to welcome Duane Yansen & José "Joey" Maldonado to our staff here in Rochester!!!

Both Duane and Joey have jumped right into the work. Duane utilizes his degree in Education as much as life experience and work with youth on the streets and with behavioral issues through RCSD, Pathways to Peace and the Boys and Girls Club. Duane grew up in the Southwest neighborhood, can speak to the changes the community has experienced over time, and is connected to generations of families and resources in the area.

Joey has exceptional experience in youth development work in the US and in Latin America, as well as with setting up and running a music studio for young people specializing in what is dubbed “conscious” hip hop that uses words and music as a powerful tool. He grew up in 14621 and has returned home to continue his work in Rochester.

"IT'S TIME TO CHANGE THE GAME...PEACE"

SW Neighborhood Peace March and Celebration

Thanks to all who came out and joined the Youth Peace March on June 23.

Check out this coverage in the Democrat & Chronicle.

"It's TimE": TE Rochester's Inaugural Community Luncheon

TE's first annual community luncheon, held May 5 at the Riverside Convention Center, was a huge success, with more than 400 people attending. Check out this amazing gift of poetry offered at the event from TE Associate Coordinator Shanterra Randle. Then, read what one attendee has to say, and see this follow-up piece in the Democrat & Chronicle: "Empowering teens to shape their own lives."

See a preview of the event with Doug Ackley on YNN, and read another preview in the Democrat & Chronicle: "Luncheon will honor three for work with teens."

"Bright Idea": TE Rochester's Youth-Police Unity Project

TE's Rochester program recently received recognition from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. The Youth-Police Unity Project was cited as innovative and a possible model for other communities.

YOUTH ORGANIZER GROUP HARD AT WORK

A group of youth organizers are working out of TE's first neighborhood-based site in Rochester. Contact the site for information about the initiatives these youth are organizing to benefit their community.

Youth-Police Symposium

Real Talk Real Walk event flier

In May of 2010, TE Rochester organized a symposium to bring youth and police together for honest, thoughtful talk, leading to real change in police/youth relationships in the city. This event was the culmination of prior dialogue sessions between city youth and police.

Check out TV coverage on YNN, newspaper coverage in the Democrat and Chronicle, and a RocNow guest essay by Sergeant Gary Moxley and TE Rochester director Doug Ackley.

Grand Opening at Our New Location!

Many thanks to everyone who helped make the October 15, 2010, Grand Opening of TE Rochester's first neighborhood-based site such a great success! Check out video preview of the opening on YNN TV. Here's WHEC's coverage of the opening. Read about it in the Democrat & Chronicle and check out some photos of the event.

Current Initiatives and Recent Events

Download a 6-page overview of Teen Empowerment in Rochester, including information about our work with the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council, the Youth-Police Unity Project, and more.

Building on 2008's standing-room-only Voice of the Youth Forum, the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council (MYAC) reported back to the community at a forum held on May 5, 2009. At this event, MYAC introduced its "Youth Priorities in Action" report.

Rochester Advisory Board

Hanif Abdul-Wahid
Community Liaison, Monroe County Department of Planning and Development
J.B. Afoh-Manin
Assistant Public Defender, Monroe County
President, Black Bar Association
Scott Burdett
Director of Marketing and Brokerage Services
Flaum Management Company
Rick DeJesus-Rueff, Ed.D
VP-Student Affairs & Diversity Initiatives
St. John Fisher College
Glenn Hoff
Retired Deputy Chief of Operations
Rochester Police Department
Judith W. Kaplan
President, Community Planning Associates
Former Executive Director, Arts & Cultural Council
John M. Klofas, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Criminal Justice
Rochester Institute of Technology
Wade Norwood
Director of Safety Net Initiatives
Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency
Edward J. Nowak
Retired Public Defender, Monroe County
James Sheppard
Chief of Police, Rochester Police Department
Barbara Staropoli, SSJ
Vice President, Sisters of St. Joseph
Lori Van Auken
Deputy Executive Director, The Children's Institute
Van Henri White, Esq.
Attorney at Law
Board Member, Rochester City School District
Jeremy Wolk
Associate, Nixon Peabody, LLP

TE Rochester Youth Conference 2008

Forty Rochester youth contributed to the hard-hitting relevance of TE's 5th annual Youth Conference and SpeakOut, held on November 8 and attended by between 500-600 youth. This year’s theme, Breaking Generational Curses, engaged youth in examining the pressing issues that have brought harm —such as violence, substance abuse, police-youth distrust, school dropouts, and teen pregnancy—and in exploring ways to break negative cycles that hold back Rochester's low-income communities. The conference featured young people's original performances and speeches, youth-led small group "connection sessions," and a Youth Opportunities Fair highlighting 20+ organizations. Mayor Bob Duffy and State Senator Joe Robach were on hand to show support for teens' efforts to empower themselves and advocate for policy changes that promote youth as assets who need help elevating the quality of life in the city.

The conference was sponsored by the City of Rochester and Mayor Robert J. Duffy, the Rochester City School District, Wegmans, and WDKX.

Mayor's Youth Advisory Council Hosts Forum at City Hall,
Writes Report on Youth Issues

Teen Empowerment coordinates and facilitates Rochester’s Mayor's Youth Advisory Council. In June 2008, the council organized a standing-room-only forum for youth at Rochester City Council chambers. (Download speeches by young people delivered at the forum.) In August, as a follow-up to the forum, the youth council released a report entitled "Youth Priorities in Action." Read about the report and the Advisory Council in the Rochester City Newspaper. See it on R News.

To view the entire forum, which was filmed live, go to RNews On-Demand, Channel 108 on Time Warner Cable in Rochester.

Recognition for TE’s work in Rochester

TE's design of the Youth-Police Unity Project (YPUP) and the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council (MYAC) was recognized as a Best Practice for the Prevention of Dropouts by the US Conference of Mayors 2008.
Nominated and chosen by Monroe County Probation Officers Association as beneficiary of its annual fundraising golf tournament.
Awarded Rochester Institute of Technology’s Bruce R. James Public Service Award (via Angelina Faulkner) and Masonic Service Award (via RPD Officer Moses Robinson).

Site History

In 2003, TE began to implement its adolescent intervention and prevention strategy in Rochester. In the fall of that year, TE staff interviewed more than 120 applicants and hired ten teens to organize Rochester's first citywide, youth-run conference. The conference, held March 6, 2004, engaged over 400 youth and adults in a daylong exploration of the relationship of youth violence to the lack of vocational, educational, and recreational services.

In the fall of 2004, the Rochester site interviewed more than 130 teens for jobs as youth organizers and launched a full-scale TE program, with the support of the Wilson Foundation and the Rochester Area Community Foundation. Since that time, TE youth organizers have organized numerous events, including four full-scale youth conferences, to involve their peers in confronting Rochester's serious problems with gangs,guns, and drugs. In addition, they have been working with police officers through the Youth-Police Unity Project, funded by the Andrus Family Fund.

See RNews--"Teen forum at City Hall" for news coverage
about Teen Empowerment's Youth Forum at City Hall in
November 2005.