Creating a Network for Worcester Youth
Monday, June 04, 2012
While the organization has been building a network for youth since 1999, they are still continuing their work in the community with a new Park Steward program that will help maintain city parks while giving kids good summer job experience.
“Part of the point here is to prepare kids for future jobs. For many of these kids this will be their first time working,” said community activist Dante Comparetto, who will be a coordination for the project. Castle Park and Crystal Park are two of the sites they plan to work on. “Over the summer, we will work with 5-6 youth to take care of the park repaint benches, and plant trees.”
The organization is hoping to use this program to instill leadership roles for the youth that get involved, especially for those from lower income communities.
“It’s extremely important for many kids. There aren’t too many things to do especially during the summer, and they might end up getting involved in bad things,” he said. “By giving them other opportunities like jobs, it keeps them focused, and it also points them in the right direction in life.”
Benefitting the Community
Worcester’s District 4 Councilor, Sarai Rivera has worked with the group and can speak firsthand about how important they are to the city.
“I’ve had a working relationship with them. They’re great for the community. They’re a great resource for the community. If you’re in that neighborhood, you know,” she said. “They create a space to organize and they care about issues in the neighborhood.”
“It’s a collection of groups to improve the neighborhood and the community. Because it’s a collection of folks everyone has a different piece,” said Kevin Ksen who is one of the many volunteers who make up the PSNNC. "Everyone works to make it happen.”
Casa Cultural Dominicana, Around the Corner Youth Jobs, and the Worcester World Cup are just a few of the groups that have gotten involved with the PSNNC.
“We are about networking and partnering businesses and individuals for the better of the neighborhood. The way we’re different than other CDC’s (Community Development Centers) or network centers is that we use a city organizing mentality,” Comparetto said.
Work in Education
Many of the main projects the PSNNC is working on currently involved local schools, students and education.
“Some of the projects we’re working on include work with two underperforming schools in the neighborhood – Chandler Elementary and the Elm Park Community School – and use city organizing for the parent, teacher organizations of these schools to strengthen these schools.”
The group will be working to organize parents to help better connect them and help them understand how to become empowered in the school system.
“We started off by getting parents together to talk about the issues at the school and talk about things we could do about that,” he said. “We started by getting parents to get to know each other. That’s part of the problem. What we’re doing now is a summer workshop for these parents to know the power structure within the schools.”
Comparetto and the PSNNC believe that a fundamental way to get people involved in their community is to create a network.
“We’ll show them how to read the report card and how to best prepare kids for college,” he said. “We may end up working with teachers, administration and students to all build leadership capacities to work more collaboratively and to change the culture there.”
Community Activism
Comparetto explained that the group applies its city networking mentality to many fields, including housing.
“We were also working on forming a tenants association next door at the apartments here because the landlord there is about to pay off his unsubsidized mortgage, which means he can do a lot of things there like raise rent or turn it into condos, though that is unlikely,” he said. “We want to help them fight for affordable housing.”
The PSNNC remains dedicated to strengthening the bond of a community and speaks to the power of the people who want to better their area.
“They provide a space in the community to give people a voice and put what they’re saying into action. They’re hearing residents and putting that voice into the community through their work,” said Councilor Rivera.
The group’s Pleasant Area Community Team (PACT) will be holding their monthly meeting at 5:30 p.m. on the 7th at 301 Pleasant Street.
Related Articles
- NEW: Worcester Youth Center Names New Executive Director
- Youth Bring Local Produce to Worcester’s Farmers Market
- Youth4Change Competes for $50k Grant
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It