Social Workers for Peace and Justice conference on
youth violence sparks enormous interest
By Robert Schachter, Ph.D, Executive Director
(February/March 1995)
Giving the keynote address at the Chapter's recent conference, "Channel the Rage! Working with Youth to Promote Non-Violence and Social Justice," John Bess, founder and chief executive of the Manhattan Valley Youth program, asked, "Where did the violence come from?". With people filling the main auditorium at the Hunter College School of Social Work, Mr. Bess told the story of Harlem--which he said was the story of everywhere--from the 1950's through the present.
He depicted a community in which neighbors watched over youngsters and people didn't need to worry about locking their doors because crime was not a problem. Problems emerged as heroin came in from outside, then, addiction brought crime, crime created fear, and neighbors became isolated. And, ironically, with improving economic conditions, the very people who made up the community and cared for one another, moved out. Then two things happened: the marketing of guns shifted from primarily men to white women and young people, and heroin was replaced, first by cocaine, and then by the cheapest and most powerful of all drugs, crack.
Mr. Bess said that this story is also a story of materialism as god and television as father, telling children what they need and when to buy it. A lot has changed since the 1950's, with children being set aside with their own TV's, stereos and video games. They have their own language and are not expected to deal with parents or adults. They have their own guns and have seen commercial products like Mortal Combat rip open the body and pull out the heart. He said that this represents a radical change from the past. Instead of children being seen but not heard, something has flipped; adults are both unseen and unheard.
According to John Bess, those neighbors of Harlem's past need to be re-engaged. Those neighbors, he made clear, are each and every one of us.
As the conference opened, over 350 people were in attendance. Members of the NETA Organization discussed the youth gang experience and why people join. NETA, which arose in the early 1980's in Puerto Rico, is reported to have thousands of members at Rikers Island and throughout the state prison system, and provides opportunities for affiliation and a sense of dignity through its philosophy of life. The organization is structured like a government and has chapters throughout the City. The Washington Heights chapter has 600 members.
According to Moises Perez, the Executive Director of Alianza Dominicana in Washington Heights, it is imperative to make connections with youth, including through organizations such as NETA, which youth set up for themselves. He pointed out that in his community, which has the highest concentration of young people in New York City, there is an entire generation growing up totatlly disengaged: from family, school, and church, as well as from their history and culture. Young people have no idea of what work is about nor do they have any notion of where they are heading. This adds up to a dangerous situation, and our job, he said, is to make connections.
The conference was organized by the Chapter's committee, Social Workers for Peace and Justice, chaired by Hank Orenstein. The conference planning committee consisted of Diann Ellen Cameron, Lisa D'Urso, CarolAnn Daniel, Kathleen Murray, Joy Sanjek, Chris Shanky, and Solveig Wilder.