The City of Hartford 1999-2000 Youth Commission is comprised of 12 young people who are Hartford residents and attend one of the City’s four high schools or "at-large schools," such as A.I. Prince Tech, Glastonbury High School, and Northwest Catholic. The Commissioners are young people between the ages of 16 and 18, and are concerned about the future of their city, their school, and their neighborhood.

The goal of the Commission is to provide Hartford youth with a voice in City government and Hartford Public School system as it relates to programs, activities, and policies developed to address concerns. The Commissioners also focuses on raising awareness about the needs of young people and how youth can be resources in solving community issues. The Commission regularly meets with the Mayor, Council members, City Manager and the Superintendent of Schools to share their concerns and views on issues that affect youth in Hartford.

During the 1999-2000 term, the Commission has initiated and participated in a number of projects and activities to empower, educate and showcase youth in the City. An outline of activities and outcomes follows this introduction. The Commission, supervised by the City of Hartford Youth Services Bureau, meets every Monday at 4:00 p.m. in City Hall. Advisors to the Commission are Nilda I. Torres of the Mayor’s Office and Iris Nieves-Cross of the City of Hartford Youth Services Bureau, Human Services Department.

Weekly Meetings: Meetings are held weekly at City Hall, 550 Main Street, in the Mayor’s Office or in Room 409 on the Fourth Floor.

Outcomes:

Regular communication with Mayor Michael Peters, Deputy Mayor Frances Sanchez, City Manager Saundra Kee Borges, Members of the Court of Common Council.

Increased knowledge of City government structure and process.

Develop ideas for youth programming and services to be proposed to the City’s leadership and youth serving organizations.

Provide feedback on issues facing youth, such as teen pregnancy, leadership, drugs and alcohol and teen suicide.

Convened the first public hearing for City youth to share their ideas, concerns and suggestions on what they feel young people in Hartford need to succeed. The hearing was aired live on Channel 21 - Hartford Public Access.

 

 

Meetings with Superintendent Amato and Hartford Public School administrative staff: Commissioners have met with Superintendent Amato on a quarterly basis to discuss issues facing in-school youth.

Outcomes:

Offered suggestions on curriculum, extra-curricular activities, facility improvements, teacher/student relationships, and tools students would like to see in the schools, such as computers, sporting equipment and books.

Provided feedback on proposed ideas by the Superintendent and school administrators.

Further helped Superintendent understand student needs.

 

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Star Watch 2000: The Commission served as one of the sponsoring organizations of Star Watch 2000, a citywide talent showcase featuring youth ages 9-21. Planning for the showcase began in the fall of 1999 with auditions held in January 2000 at three locations: Weaver High School, the West Indian Social Club, and Pope Park Recreation Center. Practice for the showcase began in February 2000 and ran through March 2000. The showcase was held on March 25, 2000 at the Aetna Auditorium. The Commissioners performed more than 400 hours of service to provide support for this project.

Outcomes:

Commissioners learned how to organize a large-scale event, including

the importance of public relations, community partnerships, timelines, and team building.

Event provided youth in Hartford an opportunity to showcase their talents

in a venue that was non-territorial. Most talent shows are held in the schools and do not attract non-students. This event was an opportunity for the entire community to celebrate and applaud City youth. The venue was to capacity and the event was on the Channel 3 and 30 evening news. Channel 5 also featured the project on one of the Public Access shows.

Raised awareness among the educational, community and governmental institutions that opportunities to showcase youth talent is important to the young people in the City.

Raised awareness that:

• some youth in the City would like to pursue the entertainment business and opportunities should exist to meet the need.
• youth want to showcase their talent
• youth want an opportunity to meet youth from throughout the city to network and share ideas/concerns
• youth want to do positive activities, but do not know how to organize them
• funds should be identified to support non-traditional activities and non-traditional job exploration

Conference: The Youth Commission was invited to participate in the 1999 Annual Meeting of the National League of Cities and the newly-formed NLC Youth Advisory Council. Four commissioners attended the conference held in Los Angeles, California and were actively involved in the Youth Leadership Track. The Commission representatives met members of the Mayor’s Youth Council from Boston, Mass., and shared ideas on projects and policies. This trip was sponsored by the City Court of Common Council and Hartford Public Schools.

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The Commission is also involved in the National Youth Network, an affiliate of the National Crime Prevention Council. Commissioner Fitzgerald Heslop is the designee from Hartford and has attended the Summer 1999 Retreat, the Winter 2000 Retreat and the 2000 National Youth Crime Prevention Conference in Miami. In Miami, he served as one of the Chairs of the Youth Forum that involved youth from around the country. Three other Commissioners also attended the Summer 1999 Retreat.

Community Service Project - Kids Day 1999: The Youth Commission members served as peer leaders for the Kids Day Event held in October 1999 at Bulkeley High School. The event targeted families with young children. Ronald McDonald was the featured performer and the group was visited by McGruff, the Crime Dog - a.k.a. Commissioner Leah Colon. Approximately 20 hours of community service was performed by the Commissioners.

Presentations to Elementary School Students: The Commissioner attended an training session that focused on the affects of alcohol and drugs on the body and how they affect one’s judgement. All 12 Commissioners successfully completed the training session and have prepared activities/ lessons to present to 5^th and 6^th graders participating in OPMAD sponsored after-school programs.

The training sessions are tentatively scheduled for May 18, May 22 and May 30. Outcomes for this activity will be provided in an addendum to this report.

Parent / Youth Forum: A parent / youth forum is tentatively scheduled for June 6, 2000 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Pope Park Recreation Center. Discussion will focus on how parents and youth can talk about drugs, alcohol and other issues facing families. Youth Commissioner will help facilitate conversation with participating youth. Outcomes for this activity will be provided in an addendum to this report.

• Leadership Retreat at Camp Woodstock, tentatively for October 6-9, 2000
• Booth at Family Day, September 24, 2000
• Conference: National League of Cities Conference, Boston, MA and the National Youth Crime Prevention Conference, March 2001
• National Youth Service Day, April 2001
• Alcohol and Drug Free Halloween Costume Party in collaboration with community organization
• Community Service Project - Thanksgiving and Christmas

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