“Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes children to raise up a village to become all it should be. The village we build with them in mind will be a better place for us all.”
Background
Opportunities for our young people begin when life begins. If we create community structures where peer groups encourage self-respect, it will be possible to foster healthy concepts of parenting. Youth development begins with pre-natal care for the mother-to-be. It must be a seamless pattern through the normal development process of a child. Healthy lifestyles for the parents are an important part of child-rearing.
Providing educational, recreational, and employment opportunities to strengthen the development of our youth and their families is crucial to the future of Syracuse. As Mayor, I will view youth development in the context of the family and the neighborhood; both are interdependent and need each other to thrive. Only comprehensive, holistic approaches will be successful for our community.
There is a good deal of data demonstrating that our youth are at a crossroads. It seems that each day our local media report incidences of juvenile crime and violence. Of the 19,180 arrests made by the Syracuse Police Department in 1999, more than 5 percent were juveniles under the age of 18. Of these arrests, 31 percent were felony arrests. This is astounding, and it does not include those crimes committed where arrests were not made.
Additionally, youth are engaging in high-risk behaviors that can snowball into more severe problems in adulthood. The Onondaga County Health Department estimates that more than one-third of high-risk teens first engaged in sexual intercourse prior to the age of 15, and more than one-third drank alcohol and/or used drugs during their last sexual encounter. Since most of this activity occurs between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., we must provide alternate opportunities for our youth after school. As discussed in my response to improving education, the creation of successful community schools will help address this issue. There I also discussed the alarming rates of school dropouts and the seemingly “forgotten” youth, who began 9th grade in our district but who did not make it to 11th grade, only to be counted in the annual dropout figure. Herein lies an urgent call for action.
I believe that, through innovative partnerships and the expansion and enhancement of existing programs, young people from all backgrounds will thrive in our City.
Objectives
There are many noteworthy programs existing in our community that, if expanded and delivered effectively, can have a substantial impact on our youth. I feel that it is the job of the Mayor to facilitate interagency cooperation, find and make available financial support, and provide ongoing leadership to youth programs for them to flourish and touch the lives of all our youth.
Career Path Program
Every child needs a sense of hope, security, belonging and usefulness so that they can progress through childhood to mature adulthood. The survival of our society is dependent on this sequence of events. Each person has a role to play in our community. Each person has some unique contribution to make to the community. In return, the community gives social life to the individual.
Many children in our City are not part of this system. Many were not welcomed at birth; many are not cared for in their youth; and many drop out of our schools without ever having dropped in. They do not participate in our society.
But they could participate in our society. They have all the skills necessary, as demonstrated by the fact that they survive in highly complex social organizations called “gangs”. As Mayor, I will work with all of the agencies and institutions of the community to create a career path for every child entering our schools.
The Career Path Program will be voluntary, but the Lewis Administration will work to make it attractive for young families choosing to sink roots in a City neighborhood. The Career Path Program will be separate from the City School District, but it will be linked to the 21st Century extended day program described in the Education section. I will work to incorporate a health care component through the Syracuse Community Health Center. This component would be neighborhood-based and would provide preventive services as well as infirmary services as needed.
Even though education will be the most significant component of the program, responsibility for administering the plan will reside with neighborhood-based family agencies. Funding for the program will come from the reduction in administrative costs achieved when the City and the County consolidate social service administrative functions. The goal of the Career Path Program for high school students will be to set out a plan to guide each child through the years to maturity. The plan will establish certainty, security, and hope. It will give parents and community guidance in fostering the enrichment of the young adult.
The plan will be similar to the plans that are prepared for all students who have special needs. But the plan will be positive and constructive in establishing expectations for youth and a commitment by the community to provide nurturing support.
The program would address directly the 50% of our high school freshmen who never become seniors. The Career Path Program creates a safety net for our young people. In a holistic process, it brings together in one contact housing, health, social services, law enforcement, and education. The youth who will disappear from our high school enrollment will not be allowed to fall between the cracks.
In days gone by, the community met the needs of many children by establishing institutions called orphanages. We recognized many years ago the effects of institutionalization. But many children still need the structure, security, and love that were provided in the best of these communities. Since it is not possible to recreate the society where it was good to bring children to orphanages, the Career Path Program is an effort to bring the orphanage to the child.
Alternative Neighborhood-Based Programs
In several neighborhoods, programs have existed over the years like the North Area Athletic Club. Those programs have been operated for years on an informal basis by groups of volunteers who participate to help meet the needs of the neighborhood. As Mayor I will support such programs when the City School District or other agencies turn to them to assist in reaching children and families not being served in traditional modes.
Apprenticeship and Job Training Programs
There are several apprenticeship models focusing on the trades that provide youth with hands-on learning and job/life skills development. The School District’s Built on Pride program, run by Carmen Harlow, and Home Headquarters’ Opportunity Headquarters initiative, provide training and support to assist youth in developing successful careers in the construction industry.
With the upcoming construction of the addition to the Carousel Center Mall, Syracuse has a unique opportunity to provide on-the-job learning opportunities to young adults who have “graduated” from these types of programs. This example demonstrates the connection between economic development and development of our human capital.
The Youth Farmstand Program, created by Jubilee Homes, is a wonderful example of empowering youth through micro-enterprise and hands-on learning. There, youth participate in all aspects of the business of organic farming – gardening and harvesting their crop, establishing “storefronts” throughout the community, marketing and selling their goods, and financial management – run by the youth from start to finish.
There can be other on-the-job learning opportunities for programming with our area hospitals and institutions of higher education. Again, it is the job of the Mayor to facilitate cooperation among stakeholders and find resources to assist in the development and implementation of these approaches.
Recreation and Character Development Opportunities
When we see young people congregating on street corners, exposing themselves often times to illicit behavior, we ask ourselves, “Isn’t there a place for them to go?” There are a variety of after-school programs available to the youth of Syracuse, but most close up shop around 7:00 p.m. I believe that we need to increase these opportunities in the evenings and on weekends where youth actually are, not where we think they should be.
The Syracuse City Parks and Recreation Department operates a variety of recreational and educational programs throughout the City that thousands of youth benefit from each year. In conjunction with programs offered by such agencies as the Boys and Girls Club, Catholic Charities, Girls Incorporated and Salvation Army to name a few, programming through our own Parks and Recreation Department should be expanded and improved. The Boys and Girls Club has expanded its services to offering after-school programming within the school district – a perfect model of non-profit/school collaboration to reach more youth where they live. Through the development of the community schools initiatives, these connections would be present in each neighborhood and accessible to all.
Safety at our parks and recreation facilities is a primary concern. Increased lighting and the addition of police involvement through a Community Policing program (as described in the section on Public Safety) would provide a safe atmosphere in which our youth can enjoy informal and structured activities after school, on weekends, and all summer long. It is important that youth build relationships with each other and with caring adults in order for each child to have a plan of action and feel part of a caring network of family, friends, and others, to reach their greatest potential.
Mentoring and Violence Prevention Programs
The increasing problem of juvenile violence – the increasing severity of crimes and numbers reported each year – has triggered a cry from the community to act quickly to save these youth. I believe that the Partnership to Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence is one of many parts to the solution. This program needs strong community leadership for it to move forward and succeed. As Mayor, I will continue to support this program while actively participating in its design and evaluation. In addition, I feel that it is the job of the Mayor to facilitate an improved working relationship between the police department and the community, especially with programs like the Partnership and the programs on youth violence supported by the Interreligious Council. My plan for true community policing incorporates these ideas and is described in greater detail earlier in this report. Essentially, having public safety teams of police officers that are neighborhood-based would foster long-term relationships with youth and their families in a proactive manner.
Expected Results
I believe that we should hold the highest of standards of accountability for youth programming and exercise authority over resource allocation accordingly. Those programs supported by the City, under my Administration, will be evaluated regularly to ensure effectiveness. Too often, good ideas result in inadequate programming for our youth; it is time for the Mayor of Syracuse to work together with the Common Council to implement true program evaluation and fiscal accountability.
The evaluation will focus on outcomes. Success will be measured in terms of the number young people completing high school, the unemployment rate for young adults, the teenage pregnancy rate, the number of teens engaged in substance abuse, the mobility rate for teens living alone and the number of youth involved in crime.
Each of the programs set forth in this document is interrelated with the others. To ensure successful paths for our youth, we must have a city that is diverse, a city that has neighborhoods where people choose to live. Our City must offer amenities and services attracting and retaining residents of all ages. It must foster a sense of pride and belonging. I believe that the next Mayor of Syracuse must be knowledgeable about all facets of City services and programming and be capable of carrying out a vision through executing specific and well-planned initiatives.