Urban Youth
The Peace Project
The Peace Project is an initiative designed to address issues of youth violence. The premise of the initiative is not new. It is to engage young people, educate them and offer meaningful learning and earning opportunities. There’s a bit more to this initiative though--it is largely led and directed by young people. The founders of The Peace Project determined that young people were best suited to identify the challenges they face, it was further determined that they were most capable of determining solutions to their problems.
Of course their “elders” are involved, but the impetus behind the movement is youth culture. Officially launched in the spring of 2009, The Peace Project and its correlative components have embarked upon an ambitious set of initiatives. The first thing the youth leadership group of The Peace Project did was to establish three distinct groups based on age. These groups fall under the umbrella of The Peace Project, they are as follows:
• YPC aka Y Peace – ages 13 to 30
• YPC Kidz – ages 6 to 13
• Y Pee Wees – ages 2 to 6
Older adults “elders” are welcome to participate and support the various initiatives of the movement as members of The Peace Project.
During the spring and summer of 2009, The Peace Project established a series of initiatives designed to positively impact the lives of children and youth. They included programs whereby young people were hired as part of Detroit’s Summer Jobs Program. Unique opportunities were developed with young people being employed in television and film projects, building demolition, mural painting, violence prevention programs, urban farming, etc. Each program was designed to not only offer the participating young people with meaningful learning and earning opportunities, they also benefited the community. The development of public service announcements and documentaries afforded participating youth the opportunity to reveal harsh realities to their peers and others using media technology.
A host of projects and programs kept the youth engaged and involved throughout the summer. As the fall season takes its place, members of YPC, YPC Kidz and the Pee Wees keep busy. In September, they decided to host a Family Fun Day at Gordon Park on Detroit’s west side. The Peace Project adopted this historic site at the beginning of summer, 2009. Gordon Park’s dark legacy is being the location where the infamous incident took place that sparked the 1967 civil disturbance. The building that was the tinder box from which so much devastation sprang has long been demolished yet the location is a significant part of Detroit’s history. Determined to find projects that were impactful, meaningful and sustainable, Peace Project youth decided to clean up and beautify this rundown park. Over several weeks, they cleared the park and surrounding area of hundreds of bags of trash and debris. They cut the grass, pulled weeds, pruned trees and bushes, pulled out dead stumps, laid mulch, painted a mural and tended to the once neglected site. When a group of careless neglectful people held a party one Friday night, they totally trashed the park. However, the YP group came back and cleaned it up the next morning.
Today, Gordon Park stands as a testament to the determination and dedication of the community’s young people. In the future, they plan to build a pavilion, repair the fence, build picnic tables, create a butterfly garden, and further beautify the park. In the restoration and beautification of Gordon Park, community youth have embraced Detroit’s two hundred year-old motto, “we hope for better things, it will rise from the ashes."
Of course their “elders” are involved, but the impetus behind the movement is youth culture. Officially launched in the spring of 2009, The Peace Project and its correlative components have embarked upon an ambitious set of initiatives. The first thing the youth leadership group of The Peace Project did was to establish three distinct groups based on age. These groups fall under the umbrella of The Peace Project, they are as follows:
• YPC aka Y Peace – ages 13 to 30
• YPC Kidz – ages 6 to 13
• Y Pee Wees – ages 2 to 6
Older adults “elders” are welcome to participate and support the various initiatives of the movement as members of The Peace Project.
During the spring and summer of 2009, The Peace Project established a series of initiatives designed to positively impact the lives of children and youth. They included programs whereby young people were hired as part of Detroit’s Summer Jobs Program. Unique opportunities were developed with young people being employed in television and film projects, building demolition, mural painting, violence prevention programs, urban farming, etc. Each program was designed to not only offer the participating young people with meaningful learning and earning opportunities, they also benefited the community. The development of public service announcements and documentaries afforded participating youth the opportunity to reveal harsh realities to their peers and others using media technology.
A host of projects and programs kept the youth engaged and involved throughout the summer. As the fall season takes its place, members of YPC, YPC Kidz and the Pee Wees keep busy. In September, they decided to host a Family Fun Day at Gordon Park on Detroit’s west side. The Peace Project adopted this historic site at the beginning of summer, 2009. Gordon Park’s dark legacy is being the location where the infamous incident took place that sparked the 1967 civil disturbance. The building that was the tinder box from which so much devastation sprang has long been demolished yet the location is a significant part of Detroit’s history. Determined to find projects that were impactful, meaningful and sustainable, Peace Project youth decided to clean up and beautify this rundown park. Over several weeks, they cleared the park and surrounding area of hundreds of bags of trash and debris. They cut the grass, pulled weeds, pruned trees and bushes, pulled out dead stumps, laid mulch, painted a mural and tended to the once neglected site. When a group of careless neglectful people held a party one Friday night, they totally trashed the park. However, the YP group came back and cleaned it up the next morning.
Today, Gordon Park stands as a testament to the determination and dedication of the community’s young people. In the future, they plan to build a pavilion, repair the fence, build picnic tables, create a butterfly garden, and further beautify the park. In the restoration and beautification of Gordon Park, community youth have embraced Detroit’s two hundred year-old motto, “we hope for better things, it will rise from the ashes."