The voices and visions of our youth for a better Philadelphia
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document in English
social sciences
presentation
published 01/08/2008
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level : Advanced
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Summary
Philadelphia has been inundated with a wave of violence in recent years: youth violence, gun violence, and an increase in homicides. To better understand the concerns our youth have about these issues and to begin to assess the impact of their exposure to such violence, a letter writing campaign was undertaken with youth ages 12-14. These youth are part of the “Young Heroes” program at CityYear and are typically middle school students. The youth were asked to describe their vision of a better Philadelphia. They were also asked to explain what they can personally do to improve Philadelphia, and lastly, what newly elected Mayor Michael Nutter can do to improve to city. The letters (n= 78) were subsequently analyzed for content relating to common themes found within the letters. Major themes discovered within a majority of the letters were 1) a sense of helplessness with respect to enacting positive change, and 2) a sense of needing to inform people about the plight of the homeless and impoverished. Many youth called on the Mayor to increase the amount of police officers in the city, indicating a lack of sense of basic security. Many of the youth also exhibited a lack of confidence about their school system, as was suggested by many examples of asking the Mayor to allocate funding for books and supplies. These letters and the findings will be presented to Mayor Nutter at an upcoming press conference (date TBA). Further research should include the collection of more letters from youth across Philadelphia. From this research, programs can be developed that assist our youth in voicing their concerns about the city in a way that captures the attention of leaders, preparing them to make change themselves.
Table of Contents
- Abstract.
- Introduction.
- Methodology.
- Results.
- Discussion.
- Conclusion.
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