| September-October 2003 | Issue 196 |
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BPYC wins funds for youth art program |
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| The Brighton Park Youth Council (BPYC), on Chicago’s South Side, celebrated a victory in their campaign for a community center by hosting an art opening at the local public library where neighborhood youth exhibited their own photos and poems. The art opening was to celebrate BPYC’s effort to bring youth-oriented programs and services to the neighborhood while working to find the necessary funds and a definitive location for the center. The event was the culmination of a four-month after-school art program that included poetry, photography and mural art. Participants in the program, many of them youth council members, exhibited the results of their work to their families, community residents and city officials at the opening at the Brighton Park Public Library in August. The exhibit included blown-up versions of the best pictures from the photography workshop, pictures of a youth-designed mural painted on the outside wall of BPYC’s office, and a hundred poem journals. Some of the youth had the opportunity to read their poems at the opening. “The art program is very cool because it lets you express yourself through art and it is a stepping stone to our long-term goal which is the community center,” said 16-year-old Jessie Aviles, a BPYC member who took part in the photography workshops. As part of BPYC’s strategy to win the center, it completed a community needs assessment in the spring of 2002 that documented residents' current level of satisfaction with services in the community using both qualitative and quantitative data. After completing the assessment it was clear to youth leaders that immediate action was required because residents felt that Brighton Park has been neglected by city authorities and suffers a severe lack of support for its youth such as after-school programs, health services, and job trainings. Youth leaders believe that this lack of services contributes to the prevalence of gang activity, teen pregnancy and other issues that affect young people. BPYC determined that a community center would provide a safe space for youth and would offer much needed services for youth and adults. In November 2002 BPYC organized a public meeting to build support for the community center campaign and to present the results of its assessment to city officials, state legislators and three hundred Brighton Park residents. Among the city officials in attendance was Renae Ogletree, the Director of the Youth Division of the Chicago Department of Human Services. Ogletree agreed to BPYC’s demand to find the necessary funds for the art program. By then, BPYC had found an independent art group to run the program and had the support of a local church, which would provide the space to hold different art workshops. Finally, after acquiring professional cameras, paint, and other supplies, the art program started running last summer. It provided a unique opportunity for many youth in Brighton Park that would not have happened without the intervention of BPYC youth leaders. “I have never seen a program like this before in our neighborhood,” said Jose Guadalupe Ortiz, a 14-year-old member of BPYC and a participant of the mural art project. “It was a good experience to have something like it around here”. Ogletree has committed to continue working to keep the new art program running. BPYC is currently working on building local institutional support for the community center. |
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