Teen Empowerment opens new center, keeps same mission

Serghino René

Last year, 16-year-old Tyquan Evans was waiting for the bus on Blue Hill Avenue, just outside Fessenden Street. A group of young men drove by and eventually made a U-turn to head toward Evans.

The car slowly approached and what happened next took Evans by surprise. Shots rang out, forcing Evans to duck, unaware of the direction of the bullets. Evans fortunately survived, but the shooters reached their target. One of the teens sitting on a nearby porch was shot.

“I was scared, but in my head, I was thinking, ‘That could have been me,’” said Evans.

Evans said he thought he was the only person his age to feel frustrated by the seemingly never-ending cycle of violence that plagues his community. But Teen Empowerment, a non-profit organization that empowers youth in collaboration with adults to develop leadership and employment skills, has inspired him to think otherwise.

Evans, in addition to 13 other young adults — six males and seven females ages 15-20 — were selectively hired out of 300 youth applicants to plan and implement events that involve their peers and adults through positive community efforts.

“These are fourteen amazing young people and I am confident that they will quickly establish our new office as a hub for youth leadership dedicated to ending the cycle of violence in this community,” said Teen Empowerment executive director Stanley Pollack.

They will work out of Teen Empowerment’s new youth center, an extension of their South End location. Their new center is located at 252 Bowdoin Street, a former rim shop.

“It’s going to make teens feel more confident,” said 16-year-old Jacquelina Fomtes. “People who live here think it is a wonderful place and we want other people to think that way too.”

The opening of Teen Empowerment’s new center comes at a time when violence has marred a number of inner-city neighborhoods. In recent weeks, there have been four shootings in the Bowdoin area alone and some have occurred steps from the new Teen Empowerment Center.

As the saying goes if you want to know what is happening in the streets, talk to the kids. John McNeil, 16, of Dorchester says he sees a lot of good kids get drawn to the so-called dangerous life. McNeil said he believes the attraction is partly the result of a lack of attention at home.

“I’ve seen good kids get influenced by their surroundings,” said McNeil. “They get influenced by their peers going down the wrong path and get sucked in doing the wrong things for attention.”

The number of homicides in Boston is at a ten year high and more than half of last year’s 75 victims were under the age of 25. Shootings have increased more than 80 percent over the last year and there have been over 35 homicides so far in 2006.

McNeil said when situations get bad, there is always room for those situations to get worse.

“If it’s not violence, it’s drugs, and if it’s not drugs it’s addiction and if it’s not that, it’s something else negative,” said McNeil.

Despite all the negativity, Evans remains optimistic about his summer responsibilities and looks forward to the moment when he can say, “I made an effort in the streets.”

But for people outside the community, he urges them to listen and be less judgmental. Until they experience his world, there is no room for judgment.

“They don’t know that if you wear something the wrong way, looking at someone the wrong way or step on someone’s sneakers that something bad will happen to you,” McNeil explained. “No one should have to live that way.”