 Transforming Their Lives and Neighborhood: Syracuse’s Near Westside Teen Research Team
Involving teenagers as integral members of a participatory research team in Syracuse’s Near Westside Neighborhood changed lives, perceptions, and ways of understanding issues.
The team was formed in early 2019 as a collaborative process between SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and the Syracuse Peacemaking Project, funded by an AmeriCorps Community Conversations grant. It was the teens' choice to focus their research on the tough but timely questions around ‘how crime and violence affect the lives of people in the neighborhood,' a difficult topic for many adults. But in support of the teens, about 50 residents and service providers participated in focus groups using interviews, mapping, brainstorming, and storytelling. The posters and narrated presentation illustrating the team's findings captured the attention of community organizations and agencies, including the mayor’s office, which committed to engaging youth voices and ideas.
Although COVID-19 slowed the process and outcomes, the teen research project spurred the creation of the Peacemaking Center’s Youth Impact Team in summer 2021. This group is also learning leadership, engagement, and placemaking skills to create safe places for gathering outdoors.
|
