TEEN EMPOWERMENT SOMERVILLE

YOUTH ORGANIZING INITIATIVES

This year's group of youth organizers is hard at work. Read about a recent event in the Somerville News: Teen Empowerment holiday gathering brings local teens together

Thanks to everyone who supported our event at Johnny D's on November 18. It was a lot of fun and helped raise funds for the Somerville program.

Check with the site for information about upcoming initiatives.
SUMMER AT TE SOMERVILLE
TE youth in Somerville organized or participated in the following events this summer:
  • Meeting with Mayor Curtatone: July 22
  • Open mic night: July 22 at TE
  • Police/youth dialogue: July 30 at TE
  • Shannon basketball tournament: August 1 at Trum Field
  • National Night Out: August 4 at Foss Park.
  • Final event—"Creating Peace with a Piece of Mind": August 13.
  • Meeting with Mayor Curtatone: August 17

Read news coverage of the final summer event.

YOUTH PEACE CONFERENCE 2009

Somerville's 3rd annual Youth Peace Conference brought 700 youth and adults to Somerville High School on April 4. This year's theme was "The Faces of Change, The Changes We Face." The day featured music, food, theater, dance, speech, poetry,  rap battle, service fair, and community building. Read about it in the Somerville News and the Somerville Journal.

Sponsored by Teen Empowerment, Mayor Joseph Curtatone, the City of Somerville, the Somerville Public Schools, and the Somerville Police Department.

2008-2009 HIGHLIGHTS

Police-Youth Dialogues

TE's Somerville site held dialogue sessions between youth and police officers on February 3 and 5. Read about it in the Somerville Journal.

 

Teen Cafe

Somerville teens enjoyed this free event on December 18 at TE's Somerville site, featuring food, performances, and, interactive skits.

Somerville "ROCK DA MiC"

Over 70 Somerville teens came to each of these events on November 13 and July 15 at TE on Pearl Street. These evenings featured performances by TE youth organizers, food and drinks, interactive activities, and an open mike portion.


ArtBeat Festival

 Save Our Somerville and Teen Empowerment worked together to display the work of talented young urban artists at the ArtBeat festival, July 18-19. "We love the city's working class roots and its diverse cultural heritage," said Matthew McLaughlin, president of SOS. "We believe that art isn't just for museums and the elite. Art is for the people and should be alive in the streets." Read about the festival in the Somerville News..


Police and Youth Community Barbecue

Bringing the community together for an afternoon of food and fun!  This event, held on August 1, was a collaboration between Teen Empowerment and the City of Somerville - Police Department, Recreation, Public Works, and the Summer Food Program.  It provided an opportunity to take the relationships between youth and police to a new level in a fun non-threatening environment.  with a FREE barbecue with wiffle ball, volleyball, pie-eating contest, relays and games, and DJ Gibbza spinning!


National Night Out

TE youth performed from 8-9 PM at Somerville's 5th annual National Night Out on August 5 at Foss Park, which was sponsored by Mayor Joseph Curtatone, Somerville Cares About Prevention, and the Somerville Police Department. Download a flyer and schedule.



Teen Open Mic Night

Teen performances, chances to meet other youth, open mic time, fun, and food! This event, held August 14 at the Elizabeth Peabody House, was a collaboration with Books of Hope, Centro Presente, and the Elizabeth Peabody House.


Lexington Park Block Party

TE youth participated in this community event on August 16, which was sponsored by Save Our Somerville.


Police and Youth in Dialogue

In May, TE held a series of three interactive dialogue sessions designed to break down stereotypes and build relationships between youth and police. As one participant stated in a simple but powerful evaluation, "What I got out of this is, it's not us against them." Read a news report.

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SOMERVILLE YOUTH PEACE CONFERENCE 2008
Uniting the Ville: Real Stories, Real Change

The conference, held on April 12 at Somerville High School, was a great success! Read about it in The Somerville News, The Boston Globe, and the The Somerville Journal.

Hosted by Teen Empowerment, the City of Somerville, and Mayor Joseph Curtatone. Sponsored by The Somerville News, Somerville Public Schools, and the Somerville Police Department. Full list of partners (1-page download)

SITE HISTORY
In 2003, responding to increasing drug use, the rise of gangs, and an alarming rate of suicide among adolescents, Somerville's newly-elected mayor, Joseph Curtatone, commissioned Teen Empowerment to assess the situation and then asked TE to bring in our programs to help address the needs. TE's site opened in the city in the fall of 2004, with a focus on East Somerville and the Mystic Housing Development. TE staff established the program's new location at the Somerville Community Youth Center, where 77 young people took part in discussions of the issues facing youth in the city as part of the youth organizer interview process.

The group of youth organizers hired that year identified peer pressure and self esteem, especially in relationship to drug use and suicide, as issues that they wanted to address. They began their action strategy with an event to inaugurate the new youth center space, at which members of rival gangs came together to listen to youth speaking about the need for unity, as well as to eat, dance, and socialize.

In the fall of 2005, TE opened a second site in the western end of the city. The Somerville programs worked cooperatively to address the needs of the community and to help create a network of youth leaders. Somerville is a small enough city that TE can directly measure our impact, lowering rates of violence and engaging the talented youth of the city as stakeholders in their community.

TE's Somerville programming has now consolidated into one site with its own home in the center of the city.

SUPPORTERS
Teen Empowerment's work in Somerville is funded through the Massachusetts Office of Workforce Development. We are grateful to Senator Pat Jehlen and Representatives Denise Provost, Carl Sciortino, and Tim Toomey for their support of our work in the city.

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