The B.O.L.D. Teens work to prevent violence and crime in the community by partnering with community groups and supporting initiatives and events focused on public safety.
Youth Police Connection
We have been working with the Boston Police Officers from District
B-3, C-11 and Safe Streets in Codman Square to break down barriers and
initiate communication between youth and police.
“Youth do not trust the police and do not interact with them. It makes it very hard for our law enforcement to solve crime and keep our community safe. We want to prevent crime by developing relationships between youth and police before incidents occur in our community.” Alex Claytor
We organize youth police dialogues with an icebreaker like a basketball game or videogame tournament between youth and police from the community and then we talk about perceptions, stereotypes, respect, the community and safety. We then follow up with monthly opportunities for the youth and police to continue to build their relationships and communicate.
Violence Prevention Presentations in the Community
We worked with the Greater Boston Center for Healthy Communities to
create the Dorchester Teen Violence Prevention Project. This program
explores ways to prevent violence. There were many creative workshops
that are used to help to better understand the nature of violence and
violence prevention. We discuss the roles that anger, stress,
humiliation, and peer pressure play in the act of violence. We then
educate other youth in the community on how to prevent the escalation
of these feelings to prevent violence.
We also help organize youth events and parties to promote peace and
prevention.
Skate Parties and Events
We work with the Codman Square Neighborhood Council, B-SMART (Boston
Strategic Multi Agency Response Team) and Codman Square partners to
reduce crime in the community through city and community
partnerships. Initially, Mattapan was the only
neighborhood served by B-SMART in our area but we have worked to ensure
North Dorchester was included.
We work with other community and city partners to host skate parties at
Chez Vous Skating Rink in Mattapan every other Wednesday. These
skate parties are designed to allow youth to skate for free, hear from
community and government leaders and learn about employment and program
opportunities in the community. We also help organize other
opportunities for our community to come together and work to provide a
place for our youth to learn about resources in the community and be
exposed to adults that care about them.
Occupational Hazards
Do you feel safe in your work environment? Based on several surveys
done in the Fields Corner and Codman Square areas, respondents have
said that their safety is compromised daily. BOLD Teens decided
to survey restaurants and retail stores such as pharmacies and grocery
stores. In the Fields Corner area, the stores between Dorchester
Avenue and Adams Street were surveyed. Also, in the Codman Square
area, the stores between Washington Street and Talbot Avenue were
surveyed. Fields Corner and Codman Square are diverse places in
Dorchester. They are filled with corner stores, eateries, banks, law
firms, fresh food markets, clinics, and non-profit organizations.
|
Questions |
Have you ever been robbed (%) |
More than twice (%) |
More than five times (%) |
Do the police help (%) |
Did the quality of service change for the worse (%) |
|
Yes |
58 |
82 |
36 |
18 |
64 |
|
No |
37 |
18 |
64 |
82 |
36 |
|
Total (%) |
95 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
Our work resulted from the collaborative efforts with MassCOSH, Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health Work (http://www.masscosh.org) youth to address youth workplace safety. Our collective efforts culminated in the creation of a train the trainer curriculum, public service announcement, and the passage of the new child labor laws. Contact us if you would like to be trained on youth workplace safety!