Humans of SSYP (Week 4)

Hi everyone! I can’t believe this is already the fourth installment of Humans of SSYP. This post is a bit longer because our leaders have a lot to talk about! Sit back, grab a snack, and read the stories of some of the individuals at SSYP. 

Rosa

What made you choose to be involved with SSYP?

I worked for an AmeriCorps program called Massachusetts Promise Fellowship. Through that program, I was able to find St. Stephen's Youth Programs. I had interviews with potential partnerships that I would serve at. It originally started as a one year thing that I was going to do and then I decided to do another year of AmeriCorps again with SSYP. That’s how I found them. 

Can you summarize SSYP in one word or phrase?

SSYP has been what I call a safe haven. It serves that purpose for the families, the youth, the staff, the teens. SSYP has served as a safe haven for me from my first year through my second year now. I graduated college in 2020 and it was a difficult time to graduate at the peak of a world that is suffering. Being able to have AmeriCorps and SSYP, I was able to focus on the work and something I was passionate about. I have a lot going on and so do a lot of people that we serve. It’s been a safe haven for me because I'm able to have a routine and be around inspiring people and great youth. 

How do you feel about SSYP now compared to when you started?

I feel more comfortable. This is my second year serving here at SSYP. My first year was a year of learning and adjusting. This was not only my first year as a new professional in the world, but I was going through personal trials as well. I was trying to figure out who I wanted to be in my role. The second year has been a year of growth. I have been able to use the things I learned last year and build on those. I can relearn some things, work on more things, and better understand my strengths and weaknesses. I better understand my role as a person and then a professional, and then whatever it is that the youth need from me or the role they need me to play. SSYP is a great place. I've been able to form stronger bonds in my second year and meet new people. 

What has been your biggest challenge at SSYP?

I would say my biggest challenge has been when you step into a place like St Stephen’s, there's a lot of learning and realization that happens. I always say that I may look a certain way, but it doesn't necessarily mean I share the same story as someone else just because we look alike. I've had my fair share of struggles in the life I've lived so far. When I came here, I had to be open to learning and open to being vulnerable.

That helped me to connect with my youth and connect with my coworkers. I wouldn't say I came in completely blinded by the disparities in the areas we serve, but I would say my eyes were definitely widened. I was able to understand, or at least try to understand, the way the youth live compared to my own upbringing in my own story.

It’s been a positive experience when I'm able to use my story to connect with the youth. I understand that it's much bigger than just a job and bigger than AmeriCorps. Through the time I've been here, I understand my role better. Every day, I’m learning how to be the most helpful or most impactful person that I can at SSYP. 

What are you most proud of during SSYP?

I'm most proud of coming in every day and showing up. I understand how important it is to show up for people and show up for the people you care about. I've only been here for two years, but I've been able to develop and form great relationships in that short time. I think it's easy to say you're going to work everyday, but it may be harder on some days than others to show up. I have had my fair share of physical and mental challenges that I deal with outside of work that make it hard for me to show up every day. I discipline myself when I come to work by leaving everything at the door and being completely present. 

It's not about me. It's about other people when I go to work because I believe that youth enrichment is youth work. I think education is incredibly important. You need to show up in order to be fully present for these things. I'm very proud of how I've been able to hold that standard for myself of coming in every day, even when it's hard and there's so much going on. There are many obstacles, but it’s not going to stop. It’s about moving forward. 

What do you wish we did more of or differently at SSYP? 

I work with middle schoolers at YLC. I wish there was more education and programming out there for middle school students specifically. Latasha says all the time that there's a huge leap that happens when you finish your elementary school years. There's a lot of pressure to already start thinking about high school and college. Middle school years may be the hardest of your school years. It gets glazed over because the next thing is high school and the next thing is college. Those middle school years are so important to the development of a youth. The people that are around during these years can be beneficial as well as detrimental to their development.

I have a passion for the YLC after school program because I have seen in my role that after school programs positively impact middle school youth. I want to see more youth development and letting them be kids instead of pushing adult roles on them younger than they should be. 

I feel like I glazed over middle school and grew up very fast myself because of everything happening in my life. It makes me happy to be at YLC and to get to be a kid with them. I'm able to live those years with them. It helps me reflect on other things that I missed out on or had to grow up too fast for. 

What do you think the future holds for us? Where do you see SSYP in 10 years?

I envision SSYP in ten years still going fast but steady. I've noticed that you never want an organization or business to expand too quickly because you're not going to keep up with that moment. I have been able to see SSYP grow in the past two years, but also hit the breaks when necessary. I've seen them through that. That's why I can say in ten years, I still see us going steady. It's like a steam boat or a ship where they are smoothly cruising.The SSYP ship picks communities like Roxbury and other South End areas up on the way. 

I see SSYP still going strong and providing positive programming for youth. I see B-SAFE continuing. B-SAFE is so unique in the way that it's the beginning of our programming circle. There are JCT’s, then teens. They have the option of going back to being parent organizers. I think the circle works really well. I see SSYP potentially filling that gap of post- college programming. I can see them starting to develop and expand buildings for the program so it becomes larger. I still see SSYP doing what they do best, which is impacting youth. 

Saran

Tell me about your story with SSYP.
I'm here through AmeriCorps MPF which stands for Mass Promise Fellows. Each person who is accepted receives a host site. During the interview process, I got to pick three sites that I was interested in. It wasn't until my first interview that I found out about SSYP because I was interested in doing college and career work. The person who was interviewing me said, ‘SYYP could be a good space for you.’ I thought ‘I didn't see that one on the list.’ I looked more into it and I thought these people seemed really cool. When I did my interview for SSYP, I liked it the most. I liked all of the work they were doing for low income kids of color in the South End neighborhood. I think what really sold me is I have a friend that went to high school with me. We also went to college together and they did the same program. I found this out during my interview when Kasey asked, ‘do you know so-and-so?’ I replied ‘yeah, I do.’ I talked to them and I asked ‘So what did you think about the program?’ They were like, ‘I loved it. You're going to have so much fun there. You should definitely do it.’ That sold it for me. I decided to make SSYP my first choice. Luckily, SSYP made me their first choice as well. It was a match made in heaven. 

Who's one person that you connect with here at SSYP?

I think the person that connects with me the most here is Anna on the SES team. Ever since the first day that we met, we had an instant bond. It was funny because we have a mutual friend. We get along so well. A lot of our ideals and the stuff that we work on are very interconnected. She's also paired with the teen team because her main focus is the teens. We're always bouncing off of each other in terms of ideas and concepts. I love her so much because she really cares about the kids. She does a lot of work and she goes in depth with everything that she does. SSYP is so lucky to have her because she's going to do whatever she puts her mind to.  

How do you feel about SSYP now compared to when you started?

I was really excited to come in. When I started, it was really nice getting to know everyone. Everyone was very friendly, welcoming and accommodating. They let me know from the jump that it's going to be a lot of work, which I expected. It was a good transition. Now that I’ve met the kids and seen everyone do their jobs, I am able to really appreciate the program and everything they do. I'm pretty sure all of the kids appreciate it too, with all of the resources that we are able to provide them. They are so much fun to work with. 

What has been your biggest challenge so far at SSYP?

I'm the type of person who is a perfectionist and really hard on myself. This is evident when I'm organizing things and planning for my lesson plans. My biggest challenge for me is that when I do my lesson plans, I still believe there's more that I can do. 

This is what I could work on. I'm always critiquing myself and I feel like I'm not doing enough. I think I’m behind or lacking. At the end of the day, I just have to keep reminding myself that I’m doing enough.

I need to remind myself that all of my students love me. They appreciate my work. I led my first team meeting, which was an honor. It went great. The teams loved it. They all participated and were really excited about it. Even at the end, I thought ‘This is what I could have done better. This is what could have gone better’ I need to work on looking at the positives and where things went well and then go from there.

What are you most proud of?

I was proud of the fact that I'm here and doing this work. I grew up in a neighborhood like this, low-income, majority black and brown in this city. I went to Boston Public Schools from kindergarten all the way up through high school. I transitioned from a public school full of black and brown students to a predominantly white prestigious institution. My time in college was difficult because I never received resources on what it's like to go to a school like that and what to expect. A lot of the issues that I dealt with included being the only black person in my classes and going to school with a tiny black population. The majority of the black students banded together to support and protect one another. I want to bring all of my knowledge back to my community, and share it with everyone else. I also want to be able to provide everyone with resources so they are prepared to go into these spaces.

What do you wish we did more of or differently?

I think one thing that we struggle with is while we try to give support to the kids, we can always be providing them with more support. 

Is there anything else you would like to say? 

I want to tell the youth that if there is something that they're looking for that they aren’t passionate about, it isn't something that they have to do. I stressed this during my adulting session that your twenties are a time where you're discovering yourself and your passions. You’re in this space where it's a really difficult time because you're relearning and unlearning things. 

I want to give them the space to feel like it's okay if they start out liking one thing, but if it isn’t actually for them that's fine. You don't have to commit to one thing. I think that's one thing that I hate about what a lot of people say is if you're doing this, you have to commit to it.

You don't because if it's not working for you, if you're not passionate about it, if you're miserable then move on to something that you are passionate about. You have your whole life to figure out what it is that you want to do. You can do multiple things. That’s what I want to give to them. It's okay to do what you want and what you're passionate about. Don't do what people expect you to do. Do what makes you happy at the end of the day. 

Amanda 

What made you become involved with the parent mentor program?

I have always been involved with the school. This is because my grandkids are in the schools. I always have that interest in being involved in and working with the schools. 

Can you summarize the parent mentor program in one word or phrase?

Excellent. 

What has been your biggest challenge at the parent mentor program?

My initial challenge would be my English because I didn't speak English. For me, when the program started, I thought it was going to be a big challenge. However, I'm already three years into the program, and it has been fine even without being a native English speaker. That’s what would be my challenge. 

What are you most proud of during your time at the parent-mentor program? 

One of the things that I feel really proud of is being involved with the schools and what is happening. This is not always just helping teachers and assisting in stuff going on, but it's also what’s happening around the schools and being a part of that.  

What do you wish we did more of or differently at the parent mentor program?

Nothing different because we already have parents and the community involved. Being involved is like you're being included in what is happening in the schools. 

What's your favorite memory at the parent mentor program?

My good memories include being at the school where my grandkids are and being very involved. I had the experience of going to Chicago to learn more about the parent mentor program, which is where the program came from. That was a really good experience for me. 

What do you think the future holds like in 10 years? What's the parent mentor program going to look like in your opinion?

I would like to see the parent-mentor program grow and expand to different schools. Not just for the program to be at one or two or three schools but in the entirety of Boston. We'll see growth and expansion in the next ten years. 

How do you feel about it now compared to when you started three years ago?

What happened for me is that I’m learning more. I'm learning new things. That's one of the things that has been different from when I started it.

Is there anything else you want to talk about or say in regards to the parent mentor program and your experiences?

One of the things I will say and add on is to get more parents involved. That's not only just working with teachers, but also getting more parents included. We’ll be advocating and testifying. There was a campaign where we got a better and higher budget for the school. We were able to get a pool for the kids to be able to have swimming classes after school.

That's one of the things that we didn't have before. We had to fight about it, and we won. We worked together. As parent mentors, we will give you that courage and advocacy to be speaking up.