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The Prospect Park Youth Council provides an opportunity for teenagers from throughout New York City to learn leadership skills, help maintain and restore Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and plan events and activities for other teens in the park. In 2001, they moved to a cottage on the park's Parade Grounds that acts both as a headquarters for the group and a general resource center for all young Brooklynites. How and why did this program get started? In 1998, the Prospect Park Alliance (PPA) recognized that although it was one of the U.S.'s largest nonprofit park organizations, it had no representation from people between the ages of 14 and 21. The Alliance also realized that most events in the park were tailored for children and adults. Who is involved? Each spring, the current Youth Council (whose members change each year as students graduate from high school) begins contacting youth programs throughout Brooklyn, inviting members of those programs to join the YC in the fall. The Council goes to meet interested teens throughout the summer and gives presentations on who they are and what they do - a lot of phone calls and scheduling and traveling around the city. By the start of the school year, about 35-45 young people
generally have signed up; and it eventually narrows down to a core group
of about 20 who take ownership, and like the idea of being in charge.
"A lot of people are taken by surprise by how much control they have,"
says Diane who's been involved for more than two years. "Some never
really get it, and they tend to drop out." Explaining her commitment
to the program, she notes, "We get to do everything with minimal
interference from adults. Other youth programs are like 'oh how cute,
getting kids involved' - but then they tell you what do. Here, what we
want to see happen, can happen." What goes on as part of this program? The Youth Council participates in, plans and/or implements the following types of activities each year: • Events for teens: A Teen Summit with the Brooklyn Public Library, to help get kids involved in the library;a talent show; a dog festival; a dance night with swing, hip-hop and Latin music; a teen-themed after-party for a park "Greenathon" fundraiser walk; Earth Day activities and more •Leadership Training. Council members participate in weekly classes, learning the background and history of Prospect Park and how it is managed through the parks department and the PPA; aspects of civics responsibility; outreach techniques through phone calls, mailings, presentations and public speaking; they work with other park groups and committees at park events on weekends • Community Assessment and Evaluation. Youth Council members do sample surveys, finding places where kids hang out it's like a big scavenger hunt, they come back and do presentations on what they've found • Park Maintenance. A Woodland Youth Crew
does restoration work 7 weeks in summer and 6 weekends in spring and fall.
Youth Guides work in the park for seven weeks in summer and 10 weekends
in fall and spring with training in winter. They answer questions and
give weekend tours of areas of the park under restoration; work at summertime
camps and other events for kids • "Placemaking" Activities. The Cottage is a resource center and hang-out where teenagers can use the computer or get homework help, or find out about park jobs. "We want to have ongoing stuff for teens, both fun stuff like movies and workshops on things that get ignored in public education - like health issues," says Diane. "We're surveying kids who come here to see what they want, so this will be a place for them to have a voice." • Politics. Council members also travel to the New York State Congress each year to advocate for parks. "We're trying to send the message that there's a great constituency in parks and in general and that these politicians represent us," says Diane. "We want to show that voters from all over use parks and it's in their interest to support them - they're an important part of the city infrastructure." How has the program changed the community - and the participating teens? An evaluation process was being established for the program in the winter of 2001-2002, but it is clear that individuals who have participated for the past couple of years have gained a great deal. Some teens have gotten a sense of accomplishment by taking on leadership roles, either in planning events or helping make the case for parks to New York State congressmen; others have broadened their horizons by getting introduced to a new sport or activity. This program is based on working with the assets of the group - and each individual in it - rather than its deficits. Moving into the cottage has meant having a place, and having the Council has meant having a voice, offering the freedom for participating teens to do what they want to do. The Council is promoting collaboration among groups and institutions in and around the park (such as the library) and is working with adult committees. "There's not much going on in the park for people between 14-21 years old," says Diane, "yet we're a huge user group. So we put on several events each year, and help out at other park events - we show other teens that there's something here for them." Challenges Transportation. Other groups within the Alliance want the Council to participate in their meetings and evaluate they're activities, but the meetings aren't always convenient for teens who live all over Brooklyn. "Some people don't understand how to work with young people," says Torres. "You have to give them more meaning that just telling them to stuff envelopes. They want to be respected more than anything. They want to be asked, not told. Then there are the other usual misperceptions about teenagers and how they work, that you can't trust them, they're unreliable, up to no good." He's also found that adults come to him, asking him if he'll get the YC to do something. "I constantly emphasize that the YC members are the ones who decide."
Chase Torres is the director of the Prospect Park
Youth Program; Youth Council members also work with other adults from
the Prospect Park Alliance. |
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