Saturday Retreat to Plan Youth Crime Strategy Initiative Held at Davis
One thing many middle school and high school students are often loathe to sacrifice is their rare and precious weekend sleep-in time. But on Saturday, March 21st, ten young leaders arose and gathered on the near south side of Milwaukee to spend the morning in a place they normally only see on weeknights after school-the Davis Branch Boys & Girls Club. This group of emerging leaders left the pajamas behind early and gathered together out of interest in creating a strategic community project together to tackle issues of crime in their neighborhood. Given the distractions of homework and other club activities on weeknights, they decided they wanted to jumpstart their project with a few hours of concentrated thinking and planning time outside of their normal routine-even if it meant getting up and coming together on a Saturday morning when everyone was free of other commitments! In a state of temporary stillness and quiet from the energetic bustle of the week’s regular activities and empty but for the group themselves, the Davis Boys & Girls Club that Saturday morning fit the bill perfectly for the group’s project kickoff “mini retreat.”The Davis Club’s Teen Coordinator as well as Annie, the local Safe & Sound Community Partner, were on hand to facilitate the morning, but the brainstorming and planning were generated through the insight and creativity of the young leaders. Upon arrival the group shared fresh fruit and other goodies to get the brain juices flowing before settling into brainstorming mode. In a circle format, the teens broke the ice and got to know each other and their strengths as a group better through an activity in which they shared about their proudest talents and some of their own goals. Conversation moved on to a discussion of the various types of challenges and problems group members witness and experience in their schools, homes, and neighborhoods, as the teens sought to generate a range of potential focus areas for their upcoming project.
Violence used as a means to respond to problems or conflicts was a recurring theme of concern as the teens drew astute connections between the kinds of violence occurring in some of their schools, within families, and violence played out on the streets of their neighborhoods. Participants expressed worry about the stresses facing their peers as well as younger kids who are surrounded by many of the same issues, many of them perhaps without adequate support to deal with them constructively.
By the end of the mini-retreat, the teens were already coming up with possibilities for projects they might develop in response to their concerns about community violence, including possible ways to support and engage other youth in leadership. The planning would be continued further during the group’s weekly Wednesday meetings, but by early afternoon that Saturday, the teens closed their discussion and shared lunch to celebrate progress made, momentum generated, and new commitment as a team. To be continued!
