MA Attorney General, Maura Healey, Visits SSYP!
/By Tyler Cavanagh, Development Associate
On July 27, 2021, SSYP hosted a visit from Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and her team. During the Attorney General’s visit, our JCITs (B-SAFE’s 9th grade leadership internship program) had the opportunity to voice their concerns about challenges in their community to the AG and advocate for change. While we often talk about our young people advocating for equity in education, our 9th graders spent time preparing for this visit by identifying needs in the community outside of their schools. They did this by engaging in conversations with neighbors, business people, and community leaders over the past three weeks. Some of the topics included litter, affordable housing, rent control, the challenges associated with gentrification, access to public libraries, and homelessness. JCITs also spent considerable time with the Attorney General discussing the impacts of gun violence, public safety, and the opioid crisis.
These challenges are real and our young people see them every day. When asked by Attorney General Healey “raise your hand if you ever feel unsafe,” hands around the circle went up immediately. This conversation, a valuable and honest exchange of information, allowed our teens to take part in their own governance, highlighting a phrase that is heard often at SSYP and elsewhere, “nothing about us without us.” The Attorney General’s staff were there to provide resources to the young people and make note of the issues that are important to them.
One major challenge shared by SSYP’s Teen Program Manager, Jasmine Bruner, was around funding for teen employment. Each summer SSYP provides meaningful employment to more than 100 teens from around the city of Boston. These positions at SSYP are funded, in part, through the Healthy Summer Youth Jobs Program, a grant through the Attorney General’s office. We are grateful for this support and proud of our commitment to creating opportunities for young people to gain valuable work experience in an environment that allows them to feel safe, big, and connected.
After the group discussion, Attorney General Healey walked with us to Ramsey Park to play basketball with our teens, a shared passion. While some of our young people may have been more quiet in the group discussion, their energy was tangible on the court. These moments of relationship building are key to our mission at SSYP. Sharing this moment of fun and camaraderie allowed our youth to see past the title and office of Attorney General and instead see someone who is literally on their team, ready to put in the work so we can all win.
We are so grateful to Attorney General Maura Healey and her entire team for taking the time to visit us and see what makes SSYP unique!