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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Teen Empowerment by Jaime Lederer


Jaime Lederer is the Director of Somerville Programs - The Center for Teen Empowerment.  Thanks Jaime for being a guest blogger and sharing with Ward 1 all the great things Teen Empowerment is involved in.


In collaboration with the city of Somerville, Teen Empowerment is excited to announce the 7th annual Peace Conference! This year things are going to be even bigger than ever!

On April 6th, at 7:30pm, we’ll kick off Peace Month at the Somerville Theatre. Teen Empowerment will host “Late Nite with Teen Empowerment,” an all-original show with theater, spoken word, music and speeches. Youth Organizers and Associates have been working to create a powerful show to address the issues that youth face in Somerville and bring together the community. The show will address issues related to drug use, bullying, mental health, media influences, violence and more.

Peace Month was designed to celebrate the youth of Somerville and all the resources available in the city. The overall theme is “Giving Back to the ‘Ville, Voices of the Seven Hills.”

To continue the dialogue, Teen Empowerment will facilitate a youth/police dialogue and a youth/Aldermen dialogue. By bringing together youth with police officers and city leaders, we are able to foster communication and build relationships. These dialogues are so important so that all our voices are heard and we can all work together to make Somerville a great place to live for everyone.

With the youth/police dialogues, we work to break down stereotypes and find ways to increase community safety. Our last dialogue, held in November, was part of training for new officers joining the Somerville Police Department. Check out the coverage in the Somerville Journal here!

Many groups have come together to make Peace Month possible, including Groundwork Somerville, Somerville Cares About Prevention, Teen Connection, Books of Hope and more.

A full calendar listing can be found here.

At the end of the month, on April 26th, Teen Empowerment will hold big celebration at the Armory. This event, ‘Villens All Out Bash, vol. 2.0 will have a job and service fair with local agencies, provide dinner, entertainment and a dance party with local DJ Anthony Soto, a former Youth Organizer and Ward 1 business owner of Fresh Press Printing and Accessories.

We hope you’ll join us for “Late Nite with Teen Empowerment” on April 6th at 7:30pm. Tickets are $2 in advance and $3 at the door. They are available from Teen Empowerment or at the box office of the Somerville Theatre.

About Teen Empowerment:
The mission of the Center for Teen Empowerment is to empower youth and adults as agents of individual, institutional, and social change.
Jaime Lederer

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