News

The Verdict Vol 2 highlights youth unemployment and educational options for success.  Download the newsletter.

Local press coverage of the youth march and rally at the state house on Thurs, Feb 18.  Click here for details about the rally.

(Boston Globe photo)

The Youth Voices project, housed at ABCD, brings together a diverse group of youth from the community-based organizations that collaborate through the Boston Youth Service Network.  The project has a dual focus on literacy and digital media, focusing on youths' stories, their neighborhoods and issues of importance to them and their peers.  The first volume of their newsletter The Verdict highlights a narrative redemptive writing project done in partnership with WriteBoston.

Federated Dorchester Neighborhood Houses (FDNH) celebrated four decades of service to the community and announced its future as College Bound Dorchester!  Listen to College Prep students talking about the organization's new focus and mission on the Callie Crossley show on WGBH Feb 1 (35th minute).

New research paper by Andy Sum from the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University paints the grim statistical picture of lack of jobs for teens and young adults aged 18-24.  Use this data to support advocacy efforts around increased funding for youth jobs.  Document attached - Dire Straits for Many American Workers: The Economic Case for New Job Creation for Strategies in 2010 for the Nation's Teens and Young Adults (20-24).

The recent publication of the Dropout Commission's report coincides with a huge opportunity, the preparation of the Commonwealth's Race to the Top application.  To view information on the RFP, application and public comment process, click here.  The Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education has invited the Youth Transitions Task Force and other networks around the state to join in developing comments that provide a structured proposal for incorporating dropout reduction and the Commission's leading recommendations.  We ask that you submit comments, according to the structure suggested in the Power Point posted in the web link, and that you include the attached document, or your edited version of it by January 4th.  

On September 19, NEXUS hosted a Press Conference by the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters (MLEV) for Boston Mayor Menino. "NEXUS was chosen because it symbolizes the sustainable building practices that Mayor Menino has championed as part of his climate action agenda." The sustainable neighborhood model YouthBuild Boston Designery students designed and built this past summer is on display and highlighted in a photo of the event with the mayor.

A group of youth participated in a Multi-Media Production Workshop program, part of ABCD SummerWorks. They learned production and digital media skills through this process. Through the program, youth created an educational/ marketing video about the SummerWorks youth employment program and the skills developed. They also included a focus on financial literacy and job readiness, two core components of SummerWorks skills development. Click below to view the videos (two parts).

The Boston Youth Service Network generally meets on the 2nd Thurs of each month (*except where noted), 2:00-4:00 pm. Exact meeting dates are listed below. The network often meets at 555 Amory Street in Jamaica Plain (PIC conference room) although some meetings will be hosted by a member organization at their site - agenda and location details will be posted before each meeting at www.bysn.org.

At the urging of City Council President Mike Ross and Sociedad Latina Youth Community Organizers, City Council members approved an ordinance on July 8 that will effectively regulate storefront signage and reduce the impact of tobacco, alcohol and snack food advertisements on the public health of Boston’s youth. The ordinance is a culmination of four years of work by Sociedad Latina’s Youth Community Organizers, who recognized through a series of city-wide community assessments, the link between negative advertising, low-income areas, and health disparities in Boston.

212 students graduated from community-based alternative schools and young adult GED programs during the 2008-2009 academic year. 108 students received their BPS diploma and 104 students received their GED. The Boston Youth Service Network and partners join these students to celebrate their hard work and accomplishment!

This summer, Youth Health Educators from Sociedad Latina are working with Dana Farber’s Center for Community-Based Research on a series of in-depth interviews with Mission Hill residents. They will be assessing residents’ current health practices, as well as finding out what sorts of healthy changes residents would like to see in their communities. They will use the information they gather this summer to shape their programs and initiatives for the next school year. Youth will benefit from trainings from Dana Farber’s world-class researchers, learning valuable interview and research skills in the process.

The Boston Youth Service Network held a job fair in May for students enrolled in community-based alternative education and career exploration programs. Over 125 youth attended the fair, held at Northeastern University's Cabral Center, where they met with local employers to secure summer positions, attended career workshops, and learned interview skills.

Over 80 youth from various programs within the Boston Youth Service Network came together for a Higher Education event on Wed, Feb 25. They participated in a workshop on Why Higher Education? or Financing Higher Education.

The Hull Lifesaving Museum's Maritime Apprentice Program, which offers intensive, multi-year training for DYS-committed youth preparing them for careers in the Maritime Trades, is among six area nonprofits selected as a 2009 Social Innovator by the Cambridge-based Social Innovation Forum to receive over $100,000 in cash and services.

As part of Sociedad Latina's Healthy Mission Hill project, Sociedad Latina's Unique Rhythm Dancers have partnered with Children's Hospital and their One Step Ahead Program. The One Step Ahead Program is an eight-week after school program where children and parents simultaneously receive information and training to support positive body image and making healthy lifestyle goals and long-term changes.

Youth from various organizations within the Boston Youth Service Network share their personal experiences through a network-sponsored Youth Voices video project (click below to view video).

The Boston Globe ran an editorial on truancy on Monday, 9/29/08 – "Truancy begins at home". The editorial included what the Boston Youth Service Network feels is a misinformed opinion about community-based alternative education. Attached is our response (also copied below) and the original editorial.

The Boston Parent Organizing Network (BPON) is reaching out to parents of BPS students to be sure they have information about the process underway to reprogram some schools.  See the attached flier for more information about this issue.  Contact Miriam Ortiz of BPON at 617-522-2766 if you want to get involved.