The Issues and Assets of African Youth on Staten Island's North Shore:

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Let Go Your Stress!<strong>The</strong> winners <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Youth</strong> Project DesignContest, titled their project: “Let Go YourStress!” quickly translating the adult-definedquestion about the issues that youth face intoquestions about stress. <strong>The</strong> youth projectinterns brainstormed <strong>and</strong> ranked stress factorsthat they <strong>and</strong> their peers face, <strong>and</strong> the youthsurvey asked about the importance <strong>of</strong> thosefactors.Issue: Dealing with angerEach issue that youth face can cause some level <strong>of</strong> stress,frustration, or anger, but this assessment found that dealingwith anger is an issue on its own, especially for girls. Moregirls ranked dealing with anger in positive ways highly as astress factor compared to boys.<strong>Youth</strong> revealed that they feel a great deal <strong>of</strong> anger but do notknow how to deal with it in productive ways, which cansometimes get them into trouble. <strong>Youth</strong> said that they do notknow how to h<strong>and</strong>le anger in nonviolently, <strong>and</strong> when theyare angry they care less about the consequences <strong>of</strong> theiractions.During the Project Design Contest youth were asked tobrainstorm why they would participate in the Contest. AtCDC, several <strong>of</strong> the reasons the group stated were related todealing with anger 13 : “[To learn] how to deal with anger issuesGood to learn about other people <strong>and</strong> how they facetheir problemsTo let feelings out <strong>and</strong> feel better about yourself”One youth linked anger to relationship with parents,explaining that sometimes parents do not underst<strong>and</strong> you,they hit you for no reason <strong>and</strong> you pass that on to someoneelse without any reason. 14Figure 7Who ranked "dealing with anger in positiveways" highly?(percent <strong>of</strong> survey respondants)50%45%40%35%30%25%20%15%10%5%0%Age 9-12 Age 13-18 Over 18MalesFemales13 Project Design Contest Workshop, Century Dance Complex, May 9,2008.14 Body mapping, Taking A St<strong>and</strong> event, August 2, 2008.12
Issue: Lack <strong>of</strong> money<strong>The</strong> second most highly ranked cause <strong>of</strong> stress for youthparticipating in the survey was “lack <strong>of</strong> money.” Many youthdid not feel they had the money to buy things they wanted orneeded. Young men over 18 were the most likely to bestressed about not having money, with more older malesthan younger males ranking lack <strong>of</strong> money highly, wherethere was less difference among how females in differentage groups ranked the stressor.<strong>The</strong> pressure they feel to obtain money leads many toconsider getting involved in illicit activities, such as sellingdrugs. While some youth saw getting a job as an alternativeto getting involved in gangs <strong>and</strong> selling drugs, they reportedthere are few job opportunities for youth on Staten Isl<strong>and</strong> –many saying that more jobs were desperately needed. Somecommunity members reported employers <strong>of</strong>ten do not hireyouth once they realize they live in Park Hill.Figure 8Who ranked "lack <strong>of</strong> money" highly?(percent <strong>of</strong> survey respondants)60%50%40%30%20%10%0%Age 9-12 Age 13-18 Over 18MalesFemalesOver 40 percent <strong>of</strong> youth surveyed said that they thought“more jobs” was a way to improve the community, <strong>and</strong> highlyvalued youth programs that provide paid work opportunitiesto both youth <strong>and</strong> adults.<strong>Youth</strong> also reported that adults <strong>and</strong> some parents are notsetting a good example for kids by living beyond their means<strong>and</strong> being focused on material things (like having the “latestgear”). <strong>Youth</strong> felt these parents are not helping kidsunderst<strong>and</strong> the reality that life is hard.Issue: Poor relationships between <strong>African</strong> youth<strong>and</strong> parents 15Relationship with parents is a major cause <strong>of</strong> stress for<strong>African</strong> youth. Among survey respondents, preteen boys <strong>and</strong>girls (all ages) most frequently ranked “relationship withparents” in their top three causes <strong>of</strong> stress. 16<strong>Youth</strong> defined the problem <strong>of</strong> “relationships between parents<strong>and</strong> kids” to mean: Parents giving up on kids when something goeswrong (e.g. a girl gets pregnant or a boy getsinvolved with drugs) Parents screaming, cursing at, or discouraging kids Parents not listening; always thinking kids are wrong Parents favoring younger siblings Parents not spending time with kids Parents being overprotective Parents putting pressure on youth to be “better thanthem” Parents replacing time with money <strong>and</strong> things Parents kicking kids out <strong>of</strong> the house to live withrelatives, friends, in shelters, or on their own15 In this report, “Parents” refers to biological parents, other family or nonfamilyguardians taking care <strong>of</strong> <strong>African</strong> youth.16 Female preteens <strong>and</strong> teens ranked relationship with parents almostequally, while 40% <strong>of</strong> preteen males ranked it highly compared with 27% <strong>of</strong>male teens.13
Page 11 and 12: have, and designin
Page 13 and 14: Figure 3:The North
Page 15: Findings: Issues <
Page 19 and 20: Youth and<
Page 21 and 22: Issue: Living in unsafe conditions<
Page 23 and 24: Asset: Visions for a more empowerin
Page 25 and 26: Asset: Strength of
Page 27 and 28: Figure 17: Peer pressure problem tr
Page 29 and 30: after school. When asked about his
Page 31 and 32: Culture of communa
Page 33 and 34: Issue: Few opportunities for constr
Page 35 and 36: Finally, access of
Page 37 and 38: ConclusionThis assessment was explo
Page 39 and 40: Next Steps and Rec
Page 41 and 42: AppendixList of Or

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