Tag Archives: youth

Building Futures In East Harlem

Posted on by

In East Harlem, youth violence, especially gun-related crimes, have been a hot topic of conversation for the past several months. From the broad daylight shooting on 122nd Street and Third Avenue in late September to the many deadly gang-related shootings this summer, the violence among youth has put the neighborhood on edge.

YAPH has been on 118th Street for nearly 33 years. (Photo: Sarah M. Kazadi)

Violence among youth is nothing new, but the recent surge in youth gun-related crimes have shed new light on the issue. From local elected officials implementing task forces to non-profit organizations focusing on youth initiatives, the community is taking various approaches to grappling with this pertinent issue.

One of those youth-focused organizations is East Harlem-based Youth Action Programs & Homes, Inc, part of YouthBuild Americorps. For nearly 33 years, the organization has used construction and community development projects to give youth members practical skills and leadership abilities, as well as presenting an alternative to the streets. Most of the young people in the program come without high-school diplomas and earn a GED at the completion of the 10-month course. All around East Harlem, the program’s youth members have helped build various affordable housing developments and buildings, keeping busy and out of the evident trouble that permeates the streets they work on daily.

Below is staff member Jacqueline Mason-Francis, speaking about YAPH and its role in the East Harlem community.

About Youth Action Programs & Homes, Inc. by smkazadi

No Youth Jobs = Violence ?

Posted on by

Ten days after 18-year-old basketball star Tayshana Murphy was gunned down in Harlem, the two young men allegedly responsible for her murder are in police custody, officials said Wednesday.

Despite a visible police presence in Harlem, youth violence has spiked in the past few years. (Photo: Sarah M. Kazadi)

As Murphy’s family mourns, her killing has shed light on the steady rise in youth violence and gang related crimes in the area. East Harlem community leaders say the surge could be largely attributed to the lack of jobs, and initiatives to create more opportunities for youth employment are underway.

Harlem hasn’t been spared from the job market’s downward slant. With overall unemployment in the area almost doubling the national rate, the youth labor force – falling between the ages of 16 and 24 – is also feeling the blow. The National Urban League reports that youth unemployment among minorities, who make up a large chunk of East Harlem’s population, hovers around 39 percent.

The high unemployment rate has coincided with the recent spike in youth violence, and community leaders have tied the two trends. Raichelle Thompson, a 21-year-old lifelong East Harlem resident, said youth violence in her neighborhood is at an all time peak. “The younger the group, the more deaths. Kids with guns and no diplomas, it’s really crazy out here,” she said.

At a community board meeting in February, East Harlem police said gang violence was their toughest challenge, and that gang members ranged from 13 to 21 years old. There are about 24 active youth gangs spanning Harlem, according to a DNAinfo report, some even using social websites like YouTube to taunt each other.

Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito established the El Barrio/East Harlem Youth Task Force in response to the alarming numbers, organizing events on youth violence and putting an emphasis on youth jobs. Congressman Charles Rangel has teamed with other local elected officials and the NUL to gain support for the Urban Jobs Act, which promises to “provide critical resources for non-profit groups to prepare at-risk youth for new employment and educational opportunities.”

With the initiatives freshly under way, it will be a while before we can determine whether they can create more youth jobs and slow down youth violence. Percentage wise, how much do you think the lack of jobs is to blame for the spike in violent youth crimes? What other factors should be addressed to stop the trend in communities like Harlem?

Does lack of employment for NYC youth increase gun violence?

Posted on by

Employment has been difficult for many since the recession. And despite Harlem being listed as one of the top 10 safe neighborhoods in Manhattan, there is still violence, especially gun violence. A New York State Mission Society organization, Operation SNUG, is working to halt gun violence throughout the state of New York while implementing employment program experience that NYSMS has.

In West Harlem, Operation SNUG Project Director Robin Holmes said that she works with summer internship programs, and this past summer she had around 1,300 applicants when only 300 jobs were available. According to Holmes, the gun violence could be related to the lack of employment for younger individuals

“Even though a lot of people think crime is down, murders and shootings are not,” Holmes said.

Operation SNUG (“guns” spelled backwards) was launched by the NY state senate in 2009 and has been working toward reducing gun violence mostly with adolescents.

The most recent shooting was of a young girl, prominent is basketball, named Tayshana Murphy, 18. She was shot and killed on Sept. 11 in the Grant House in West Harlem between Morningside and Old Broadway. According to an article on the NY Daily News, she was killed by other teens because of mistaken identity during a “turf war.”

Ray McLaughlin, who works as a community assistant at the CD9 board, located by the Grant House, said that he feels most violence in NYC is community based and lack of money for desired lifestyles cause violence. “People within the communities are fighting. People try living above their means in Harlem and it causes tension and crime,” he said.

According to an article on Patch.com, unemployment dropped from 6.9 percent in August 2010 to 6.6 percent last month and the labor force also dropped from 17,500 to 17,100 workers from 2010 to 2011, according to a recent New York State Department of Labor report.

This poses the question, does the lack of employment for adolescents in NYC increase the threat of their involvement with gun violence?