The Heal the Streets Fellowship program creates proactive youth voices in the fight for social change in Oakland. Our goal at the Ella Baker Center is to train tomorrow's leaders to develop and promote smart policy solutions that decrease violence and increase opportunity.
Heal the Streets is a ten-month paid fellowship program that trains Oakland's youth (ages 15 - 18) to develop and advocate for policies that bring peace and hope to our streets. Heal the Streets Fellows will have the opportunity to gain experience working with staff on the front lines of public policy reform. As the fellowship enters its second year, Ella Baker Center continues its legacy as a training ground for social justice leaders.
What happened in the first year of the Fellowship?
PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH Through a participatory action research process the Heal the Streets 2009-10 fellows have identified Teen joblessness as a cause for violence in the community. They have explored the question- How can an increase in teen jobs decrease violence in Oakland? The culmination of the fellows' research was the development of a Policy Paper outlining their process, findings and recommendations.
The Heal the Streets fellows collected extensive data to inform their policy recommendations to local city and school board officials. They have completed nearly 300 surveys with local youth and business owners. In May and June the fellows will complete their data analysis with assistance from a graduate level researcher who has volunteered her time to support the writing of the policy paper. The paper will be complete for the July 1, 2010 Fellows recognition reception to be hosted at the Humanist Hall and then used to inform policy makers, practitioners and community members.
The Heal the Streets fellows interviewed City Council members Rebecca Kaplan, Nancy Nadel and School Board Member Jody London. Youth Organizations have also participated in this research project including Youth Alive, Movimiento, Youth in Focus, MISSSEY and Scotland Youth Center.
COMMUNITY EVENTS In preparation for our research, the fellows engaged the community around the topic of violence. On Saturday, January 30, 2010 the Heal the Streets fellows conducted a Solution Salon where they presented solutions and concerns about violence in Oakland. During the solution salon there was a 45 minutes Q & A between city council members (Rebecca Kaplan and Nancy Nadel) and Student School Board of Directors Eric Adams and Nikita Mitchell. Approximately 100 attended the event at the West Oakland Library. This was the second portion of a two part series of events hosted by the Heal the Streets Fellows.
On May 14, 2010 Heal the Streets will be partnering with Oakland Leaf's project: Youth Roots to host their 10th Annual Talent Show at the Scottish Rite Center. The fellows will host the sign in table and distribute applications to kick off the recruitment for the second cohort of fellows.
A COLLABORATIVE FOCUS Heal the Streets conducted an assessment with organizations in Oakland, Richmond and Alameda to help inform the creation of a violence prevention certificate program at the College of Alameda. The assessment will be presented at a community stakeholders meeting Thursday, May 27, 2010. This is a partnership with community-based organizations and the College of Alameda. We see this as a potential leadership opportunity for fellows once they have completed the fellowship program. For more information on this project visit this website: Civic Engagement and Service Learning at College of Alameda
On May 27th, 2010 the Heal the Streets participated in policy work
groups with the Alameda County Public Health Department at the final PlaceMatters convening. The
fellows discussed their research on teen joblessness and it's
correlation with violence in the community as the work groups narrowed
down their list of policy recommendations for Alameda County. PlaceMatters is a series of
events and work groups that engage non-profit organizations, government
institutions and members of the community in creating the policy agendas
that the Alameda County Public Health Department will focus on in the
coming years. The Alameda County Public Health Department will be
presenting a list of policies to move forward on in the near future.
