BCLA Students, Mayor ‘seek answers’ on youth violence

by Robert Frank

Boston, March 2, 2006. Before an audience of schoolmates and adults at the Boston Community Leadership Academy (BCLA), a Pilot high school in Brighton, 13 students "Seeking Answers" read today from letters about youth violence they had written to Mayor Thomas Menino. Participating in the event, the mayor and school superintendent Thomas Payzant listened intently and responded.

Dorchester junior Wendy Nunez read the first letter, describing a recent gun fight on Blue Hill Avenue that spilled over into a school playground full of toddlers. The mayor then asked for a show of hands of those who knew someone who owned a gun. All the students in the room raised their hands. Menino shook his head. “I didn't know anyone who owned a gun when I was growing up. The first time I knew someone who owned a gun, I was already in public office.”

The letter writers focused on answers, ways to stop youth from fighting and especially from using guns. Brighton freshman Kevin Depina, whose “cousin was shot right in front of” him, said handguns should be banned. The mayor pointed out that we have the toughest gun laws in the country.

Most of the students saw excessive unstructured time as inviting teen misbehavior. They called especially for jobs, but also for sports, after school activities, and youth programs.

Superintendent Payzant wondered, “Aside from sports, what kind of after school programs would make a difference?” He asked how many of the students at BCLA do involve themselves in after school activities. From the show of hands he noted, “It looks like about one in four.”

Mattapan freshman Romane Regis called for more programs “such as Teen Empowerment,” as well as community centers with built in supports.

Jamaica Plain freshman Ivan Rosado was one of several writers who described experiencing violence and called for jobs to keep teens off the street.

Dranaya Owens, a senior from Dorchester, described having a gun put to her head and watching “a guy get shot and die right before my eyes.” She too saw jobs as part of the solution. She also thought police were focusing on misdemeanors and safe problems, while letting drugs and violence proliferate unchecked.

Others agreed that the legal system was making the situation worse. Hyde Park freshman Shirley Pimentel noted that CORI rules don’t give teens a second chance. Once they have a criminal infraction, they can’t work, so there is not much constructive to occupy their time. Marta Guerra, a freshman from East Boston, saw police acting rudely toward teens and suggested activities to increase contact and respect between the two.

Juniors Ricardo Blanchard of Dorchester and Dion Hall of Mattapan saw the need for adult role models. Blanchard suggested such programs as Big Brothers and Big Sisters, while Hall called for programs designed to educate and train parents.

Emphasis on family was echoed by South End/Roxbury freshman Shaccera Jones, who said the love of her mother had guided her away from the aimless ways that lead to violence. She urged the city to encourage family closeness by sponsoring “fun activities where parents and kids could hang out and get to know each other.” One possibility she mentioned was “parent-child days” at the movies, where reduced prices would be offered for families attending together.

Almost every letter writer had a grim story to tell of witnessing violence, and most of the letters included jobs and after school activities among the ways of addressing teen violence.

After the last letter, a somber Mayor Menino turned from the audience to address the writers directly. He explained that he has tried and will try harder to address most of the issues. He pointed out that it was on his shoulders to get funding, since there was no help from the federal or state government. He promised to rally businesses to offer more jobs for teens, including part time jobs during the school year. Holding a sheaf of the printed versions of the letters in his hand, and clearly moved, he concluded, "I'm going to bring these letters back to City Hall."

The letters had grown out of a city sponsored school writing program, WriteBoston, whose BCLA writing coach Kelly Knopf-Goldner spoke at the end. She said it was hard getting students to write the letters, since most had already concluded that “nothing would make a difference.” Her voice filled with emotion, she looked at those who had read and said, "Thank you for putting your cynicism aside to write these letters."

WriteBoston is a city initiative of the Mayor's Office that seeks to “build a community of writers” in Boston public high schools. They are currently partnered with five high schools. With The Boston Globe Foundation, they also produce Boston Teens in Print (T.i.P.), a quarterly citywide newspaper written by and for teens from BPS.