Two weeks ago, the Salesian Family Youth Center called for a town hall meeting to discussed about the crime that is happening in our neighborhood. From this meeting the following document was written.
Together we are stronger!
Salesian Family Youth Center
Background
After seeing what is happening in our Boyle Heights neighborhoods, regarding youth violence, the Salesian Family Youth Center is taking a proactive approach, to understand the youth violence dynamics. Our goal is to reach out to the community, to discover ways to support our young people, and provide prevention opportunities, to assist in detouring the violence, that has taken many juvenile lives.
The meeting:
On February 3, 2022, the Salesian Family Youth Center opened its doors to community leaders; among the participants, we can find: Neighborhood Watch, SEA, ALMA Family Center, LAPD – Hollenbeck, LA Deputy City Attorney, Department of Recreation and Parks, the staff of the Salesian Family Youth Center, and two teenage visitors.
The meeting had three central moments: Why are we here? The personal introduction, and reflective testimony from LAPD – Hollenbeck Senior Lead Officer Johnny Altamirano, and group brainstorming, in sharing possible solutions.
At the discussion, some problems/needs were found:
● Police are not well seen by so many youths.
● Lack of knowledge, in regards to opportunities provided for young people and families.
Some ideas on how we can solve these problems/needs:
● Take advantage of Instagram; many youths are on this social platform. As community organizations, we can develop strategies, to post or share social media posts, in promoting youth and family opportunities.
● Coffee with Cops; we can provide opportunities for youth to see police officers as human beings, who are here to serve the community.
● Create programs like DARE and PAL; that will help young people understand that they are not alone, in providing mentoring, and lots of physical activities. This program has to be hands-on, and allow for one-to-one counseling assistance.
● Find a way to get parents involved; and educate them on youth culture, parenting, and warning signs of gang affiliation and activities, among other gang prevention strategies. To invite guest speakers.
● Create a Non-Profit Community network that will put together a master calendar of activities and share the news with the community.
● Promote a youth festival; get our young people together to create a youth festival, and engage them in public leadership.
These activities are possible! The meeting ended with a sense of community, and hope for the future. A possible meeting in the next month was proposed by the group.
If you are interested to join this type of meeting, please email to jc@salesianclubs-la.org
Let's make a difference in the life of our children!