“The initiative is basically trying to make Denver more child and youth friendly."
by Asia Dorsey
photo courtesy CYFC
On Wednesday, February 13th members from the Mayor’s Child and Youth Friendly Cities Initiative (CYFC) came to TJ to offer the students and faculty the opportunity to voice their opinions concerning the city and its friendliness towards young people, as part of their community-wide conversation campaign.
Among the facilitators was Thomas Jefferson Junior Karina Desroses, who is a member of the CYFC’s Youth Executive Committee, Katherine Plog Martinez, the Director of Training & Community Services at Assets for Colorado Youth, and Nicole Tembrock from the Mayor’s Office of Intentional School Culture.
The group toured the school, going from department to department, giving presentations to the staff who graciously gave up a part of their planning time to hear the CYFC explain what the Initiative is and what they are trying to accomplish. The representatives passed out “Voice Cards” for the teachers themselves to fill out, and asked the teachers to pass out the cards to their students, ad well. The voice cards are surveys that ask questions like, “What are the best things in Denver for young people?” with blank lines for a free response.
As described by Desroses, “The initiative is basically trying to make Denver more child and youth friendly. Our goal is to collect 10 thousand voices from the youth and adults who live or commute in or around the Denver Metro area, and give them the chance to voice their opinion about the city. We collected these opinions via the Voice Cards.”
Thanks to all the support from the TJ faculty, many students and teachers have been able to get the word out about how to improve the city for its youth. The focus of CYFC is to make sure that young people take an active role in making decisions concerning their city, give strength to the places and people who make youth feel like a valued part of the society, and finally to ensure Denver supports the healthy development of its young people.
CYFC was introduced in June of 2006. Representatives from the Mayor’s Office for Education and Children, Assets for Colorado Youth, and the Children, Youth and Environments Center for Research and Design at the University of Colorado at Denver got together and decided there needed to be a change in the way youth in our city are treated. This is the only initiative in the US of its kind. Working side by side with Mayor Hickenlooper, DPS Superintendent Michael Bennet and countless other community partners and youths, it is a genuine and well supported coalition for change. The inspiration for such a coalition came from the UN’s Convention on the Rights of a Child (CRC), which guarantees young people the right to supportive environments and opportunities to make their voices heard in matters that affect them. Every country ratified the proposal except two: Somalia and the United States of America.
Among the numerous questions asked by many people in the community, was why it is so important to focus on making the city “youth” friendly? The rationale as explained by one of the presenters, was that an investment in the interest of youth provides for adults willing to do the same. Such an investment ensures that the young people of Denver grow up in an environment conducive to creating adults who are more active in the community and in other areas of society (i.e. happy and safe kids = happy and secure adults). Beyond this, a better environment for children is better not only for youth, but for every other person in the city. A safe, healthy, positive, atmosphere is not just an environment attractive to the young; more adults and families would seek the confines of such a place and improve commerce and business for the city in a long-term sense.
Didn’t get a chance to fill out a voice Card? Are you interested in learning more about what you can do to make Denver more child and youth friendly? Check out the website www.beapartoftheconversation.org.
