Boston-area youth had the opportunity to voice their opinions to local legislators yesterday during an educational visit to the Statehouse.
Youths of all ages from primarily non-profit and minority-based organizations such as Sociedad Latina, The Hyde Square Task Force, City Life/Vida Urbana and Phillips Brooks House gathered at Boston City Hall to learn ‘how to talk to your legislator,’ before marching to the Statehouse and speaking to representatives.
According to coordinator Alexandra Oliver-Davila, executive director of Sociedad Latina, a youth organization based in Roxbury, the Statehouse visit was designed to encourage young people to be politically active and to educate them about their government.
The Statehouse visit program arose as a response to a cut in funding for summer programs that occurred three years ago, she said. Many individuals from the non-profits mentioned a fear of losing important government funding with Governor Mitt Romney’s budget cuts.
‘Tough times are coming,’ Oliver-Davila stated, naming difficult economic circumstances and possible funding losses as threats to organizations like hers.
David Dance, director of programs for Phillips Brooks House, a community service organization at Harvard University, also attended the Statehouse visit. The organization provides enrichment programs for area youth, and also runs the country’s only student-run homeless shelter.
Dance cited the importance of government funding to the organization.
‘For all the student efforts we make, we still need certain things to be in place,’ he said.
Nearly all students involved in the Multicultural Youth Tour of What’s Now (MYTOWN) organization were present for the visit. The South End group of young people aims to ’empower and educate’ the community about local history by presenting historical tours and providing outreach programs, according to 15-year-old Christina Tilghman, a MYTOWN participant.
MYTOWN, which is partially state-funded, has been affected by budget cuts in the past, according to Youth Director Liz Miranda. Miranda said the organization could not hire its desired number of workers due to the lack of funds.
Some of the youth present worried that these programs could be eliminated altogether.
‘We want to know that they are still going to be there how they’re their helping us after school to stay off the streets like they are now,’ said Wilton Depina, 15, of MYTOWN.
While some students were only able to meet with legislative aides, some youth met with Representative Marie St. Fleur at the Statehouse.
St. Fleur, representative of the 5th Suffolk District, which includes parts of the Roxbury and Dorchester areas, answered students’ questions about the role of local representatives, election procedures and political parties.
City Councilor Michael Ross also met with the young people at City Hall to discuss the importance of political advocacy among youth.
‘Do you see why it’s important to get out there?’ he asked them. ‘Politics isn’t just for us folks who sit here in City Hall.’
Oliver-Davila said the event was successful, but also stressed the importance of remaining politically active. She encouraged them to continue to write letters and make phone calls to their legislators after they went home.
‘We have to keep fighting after today,’ she said. ‘This is the real deal.’
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