Youth Community Development and Organizing
For more information about our Community Organizing work, contact Ken Tangvik at 617-524-8303 x322 or ken@hydesquare.org OR Carla Poulos at 617-524-8303 x314 or carla@hydesquare.org.
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"I for one believe that if you give people a thorough understanding of what confronts them and the basic causes that produce it, they'll create their own program, and when the people create a program, you get action." -Malcolm X
“When public officials meet with us, they respect us – they think we’re doing a good job and realize that we’re trying to do something positive. Before, they didn’t care about young people – they thought that we were the cause of all of the problems. Now they’re seeing that we have information that’s useful for them.” –HSTF Youth Community Organizer
Brief History of HSTF Youth Community Organizing
The Hyde Square Task Force was created out of a community organizing campaign in the late 1980’s and organizing has been imbedded into the “DNA” of our organization. The book, Youth-Led Community Organizing: Theory and Action, by Melvin Delgado, published by Oxford University Press in 2008, devotes a chapter to describing the HSTF model of youth community development and youth organizing.
Below are just some of the highlights of our youth organizers over the past decade:
In 2000 our youth led local residents and small business owners to prevent a K-Mart from coming into Jackson Square. The youth-led actions catalyzed a Boston Redevelopment Authority planning process which resulted in the Hyde Square Task Force joining Urban Edge and the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation to form the Jackson Square Partners, which will oversee this $250 million transit-oriented development on the border of Jamaica Plain and Roxbury. This project will include major youth facilities, mixed-income housing and community-friendly commercial and retail space.
In 2003, to institutionalize a youth voice and increase the civic capacity of youth within the neighborhood, our teens successfully lobbied for a change in the by-laws of the elected Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) so that 16-18 year olds can both vote and run as candidates. Since this change, the youth organizers have run high-spirited campaigns for 12 of their members who have been elected to 2-year terms of this body.
In 2004 we received the Civic Engagement Award from the Boston Foundation for increasing voter turnout by over 80% in predominantly minority precincts in Jamaica Plain and Roxbury
Between 2001 and 2004 our teens successfully lobbied for over $1 million in city funds to renovate two public parks in our neighborhood that they redesigned.
Between 2005 and 2011, working in coalitions, we have successfully lobbied to change Boston’s tobacco laws, increase youth summer jobs, and increase state-wide funding for youth development and violence prevention.
In 2006, through an extensive community organizing campaign in which the Hyde Square Task Force youth played a major role, we were able to gain community control of the 3.2 acre Blessed Sacrament Church campus, located in the heart of Hyde/Jackson Square. This campus has several structures, including the HSTF-owned Cheverus Building that serves as a center for college prep, youth leadership training, community organizing, and the arts for hundreds of youth in Jamaica Plain, Roxbury and surrounding neighborhoods. The remainder of the campus has commercial/retail space and affordable housing.
In 2009 our community organizers successfully lobbied for and created a new high school course entitled “Civics for Boston Youth: Power, Rights, and Community Change” which is being piloted at four Boston high schools. This effort has inspired the Boston Public Schools to create a new Civics Initiative which will bring comprehensive Civics Education to all BPS children and youth in grades K-12.
Sex Ed
Our youth are fighting to have comprehensive sexual education and condom availability in all Boston Public High Schools. This is an important issue because: 56% of BPS high school students report having sexual intercourse and Chlamydia rates for females 15-19 in Boston have increased by 70% since 1999. Scientific research has shown that school-based condom availability programs can lower the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. New York City has had a condom distribution plan in public high schools for over 17 years. In 2010, the Hyde Square Task Force, in collaboration with Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center and Inter-Cultural Productions, produced a video “Sex in Schools: Does Ignorance Keep Us Safe?” which has received rave reviews from health and sex educators throughout Greater Boston and across the country.
In February of 2011, we worked with City Councilor At-Large Ayanna Pressley to hold a packed hearing at City Hall on the importance of sexual education and condom availability in Boston Public Schools. Our demands are:
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A standardized comprehensive sexuality education is implemented for all BPS high school students, beginning in 9th grade. BPS students are part of the decision-making process on the curriculum choice/curriculum development.
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A free condom availability policy is established for all BPS high schools. Each high school has well-publicized staff, male and female, who are designated to make available condoms during and after school hours.
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A student awareness campaign to promote safe sex in all the high schools is implemented through collaboration between BPS and students.
Below are six local and national news clips of the Sex Education Campaign:
MBTA Transit Police
After hearing many complaints from teens about treatment from MBTA Transit Police on their way to school, home, and work, in the winter of 2010, HSTF organizers surveyed 700 youth T riders and here is some of what the survey showed: 76% believe that the “Transit Police could use training in how to communicate in a positive manner with youth”; 66% do not feel safe with the Transit Police in the T; 70% do not feel the Transit Police act respectfully towards them; 74% of teens agree or strongly agree with the statement that: “The relationship between Transit Police and Boston Public School teens is a very important issue in our; 243 (35%) report witnessing a Transit Police officer using insults with racially charged words.
In May of 2010, we held a press conference at Jackson Square T station and invited the Transit Police. There, we shared our findings and asked the Transit Police for their cooperation in moving forward with our demands, which were:
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Create a Transit Police Youth Advisory Board. This would be a group of eight youth to meet with MBTA police officers on a monthly basis to exchange observations, problem-solve, and work towards creating a more friendly environment between Transit Police and Boston teens. Teen members would receive modest stipends for their participation and MBTA will provide professional facilitator for meetings.
- Mandatory and regular intensive professional training workshops for all MBTA Transit Police on positive social interaction with urban youth at the train and bus stations.
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Re-instate the MBTA Transit Police Community Advisory Board with a minimum of two seats for youth.
All of these demands have been addressed by the MBTA General Manager and the Chief of Police; however, our organizers continue to monitor these changes and we are actively working with the MBTA to institutionalize these reforms and improve police/youth relations.
Below are links to five news articles about our Transit Police Campaign.
BUS
Boston United for Students is a Boston-based coalition. HSTF, along with over 40 other Boston groups, are working towards making sure that students and parents are at the forefront of the Boston Public School and Boston Teacher contract negotiations.
TLTW
Teens Leading The Way is a state-wide youth led coalition working to bring civics courses to all high schools in Massachusetts.
Youth Jobs Coalition
The Hyde Square Task Force is a part of a coalition working on the city-wide and state-wide level to stress the importance of funding for youth jobs.
Massachusetts Communities Action Network
MCAN is a federation of community improvement organizations working for social and economic justice. Much of MCAN’s recent focus has been on preventing cuts to youth development and violence prevention funding at the state level.