No
more classes, no more books, no more teachers... dirty looks.
A classic rhyme, that you can catch students singing now that
summer is right around the corner. Parents will still go to
work while the “young bucks” are shipped off to
summer camp as always. What about teens in the city? What’s
in store for them?
Greater Harlem Youth Alliance spoke up and out. On May 3,
2003, the Greater Harlem Youth Alliance brought together elected
officials and leaders of Harlem youth-serving agencies, at
the world famous Apollo Theater, to demand the reinstatement
of summer youth jobs. Community agencies such as “The
Children’s Aid Society”, “The Valley Inc.”,
and the “East Harlem Council for Community” were
all present at the press conference to accomplish one mission:
reinstating the money for New York’s working teens.
The current budget plan’s allotment for New York youth
is $11.8 million dollars less than last year’s allotment
of $18 million. In New York, there are well over 80,000 working
teenagers; this budget cut takes away 35,000 jobs. The budget
can only support the employment of 5,000 young people. Only
5,000 will have the opportunity to receive job training and
experience that is needed to excel in future careers while
thousands more are deprived of this experience.
At the height of all the budget cuts in New York, the dynamic
atmosphere at the Apollo became intense as City officials
were fuming at the fact that there will be many young adults
left in the streets with nothing to do but look for trouble.
“Lack of jobs leads to crime,” said Cathy Plaza
of Berknire Farms, “this leads to drug dealing, then
imprisonment, which is $100,000 dollars a year per youth.”
That means that New York City will end up spending millions
more for crimes that were direct results of the lack of job
opportunities. “We had to stop short changing ourselves,”
says Sergio Valentina, East Harlem Council for Community Improvement,
“We need to stop the pressure of finding money, we should
have a program making money for summer youth automatic.”
New York has the lowest number of summer youth employment
opportunities. New York State only provides jobs for 20 percent
of its young people as opposed to other states such as Florida,
who provides 50 percent of jobs for teens. The objections
were clear, to ensure that the budget does not erode further.
“Of all summer youth jobs, 9 percent contribute to family
income,” said Philip Coltoff, “and not to provide
dollars is a stupid decision.” The leaders of the press
conference were becoming more and more passionate about what
they were preaching, but it was the last speaker who presented
the press with a real life walking, talking example of the
benefits that investing a little money into the City’s
youth could have. A young boy named Chris, from Harlem’s
Zone, was asked to come before the press so his summer youth
experience could be told.
“In our community our children are forced to be given
jobs, education deserves to be lived,” says Jon Bess,
The Valley, “not the destiny to rail to jail.”
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