SOUTH END NEWS

Youth to city: ‘More money’
Linda Rodriguez
lrodriguez@southendnews.com

Teens and youth advocates gathered at City Hall on Monday afternoon to demand that additional funding for youth-oriented resources be included in the city’s budget.

Around 20 youth and youth workers representing the United Youth and Youth Workers of Boston, an alliance of members of nearly 100 area youth organizations, met in the Piemonte Room of City Hall to make their request public. Although the room was set up to accommodate many members of the media, only three were present, including South End News. No elected officials attended the press conference.

The group asked for an additional $4.5 million for year-round and summer jobs for youth, and to open the pool to 14- and 18-year-olds and teens with CORIs; $2 million in grants for youth programs, to be administered by a community board of youth and youth workers; and an additional $1.5 million to increase the number of Boston Center for Youth and Family (BCYF) street workers to 50, as well as their annual starting salary to $35,000. All told, the alliance is asking for a total of $8 million to be included in the city’s budget.

This is the third year in a row that the United Youth and Youth Workers organization has called for an increase in funding for programming that would benefit youth. Last year, youth asked for a total of $5 million to be included in the city’s budget for youth jobs, an additional $1.2 million over the $3.8 million allotted in the pre-approved budget. They didn’t get it.

“Adults are always saying that the youth are the future,” said 19-year-old Carlos Moreno, a Dorchester teen who spoke at Monday’s press conference. “How are we the future is no one is investing in us?”

Sandy Martin, director of the South End/Lower Roxbury Youth Workers’ Alliance is optimistic about the possibility of some increases in funding, citing the recent election of Gov. Deval Patrick and his support for human services. On Thursday, Patrick pledged to give the city an additional $350,000 to go toward youth jobs, as well as $550,000 to hire 60 new Boston Police Department officers. “Given that there’s support there, we’re pushing a little harder and a little louder,” Martin said.

Moreover, she said, “more and more folks are aware of and disturbed by the violence.” Not the least of which are the youth themselves. “The deaths make the news, but all of these kids have heard gunshots in their neighborhood. And that’s not how we should be living in this city,” she said.

Martin also said that youth from the organization met with Mayor Thomas Menino on March 31 to discuss the possibility of more funding for youth programming and jobs to be a part of his initial budget request. “He’s been very supportive of our goals,” she said. “It’s just a matter of taking the next step.”

The Mayor presents his initial budget recommendations to the City Council on Wednesday. Said 18-year-old youth organizer Corinna McCarth-Fadel, “Is the city of Boston going to take on our challenge? Will they prove us wrong and finally make youth a priority? I guess we’ll find out on Wednesday.”