This Hartford camp is working to build young leaders; it makes everybody feel included – Yahoo! Voices

Tenaya Taylor is on a mission to help Hartford teens develop into young leaders.

In addition to advocacy work that focuses on racial and health equity, housing justice, criminal justice reform, and offering various community programs, Taylor, who uses they/them pronouns, this summer created a summer camp to help Hartford teens.

The Young Leaders summer program works to provide immersive and educational outdoors experiences for youth ages 13-18, with a chance to learn through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, along with hiking, camping, exploration, and civic engagement, Taylor said.

The camp evolved from Taylors previous work.

After losing their job two years ago in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor founded the Nonprofit Accountability Group in 2020, which works to make lasting change within organizations by focusing on people-first programming, basic needs care, and antiracism practices, by disrupting the status quo, comfort, and complacency.

Part of the Nonprofit Accountability Group includes bringing resources to the community and from the community, such as a grocery program that offers free fresh produce, meat, dairy, and perishables for low-income and BIPOC families, a free art, reading, and teaching supplies program that offers free art supply kits, creativity stations, and open mic events, and safety, participation accountability, creativity, education, a housing justice initiative to provide stipends to tenant organizers.

As Taylor became a grant writer for other organizations, they decided to begin writing grants for their own organization. This led to obtaining funding that allowed Taylor to put together the Young Leaders camp.

Camper Malabi Neal said that she is enjoying the different activities that the camp offers and is learning a lot.

I feel like its very inclusive. Its very self-surrounding around accepting all genders; non binary, transgender, cisgender. Everybody is very diverse in that way, Malabi said.

Story continues

It makes everybody feel included, Malabi said. Theres different activities of going to the movies, learning about nature, going camping, and meeting other friends...I also learned that a lot of people are struggling in communities and need camps and other outlets to do stuff, because theres not really a lot to do out here.

Malabi said there is also specific and intentional education offered.

They make activities for the youth, then they make us actually learn about plants and nature, Malabi said. [We] learn about different types of foods, that we didnt even know about, learn about how the government in this system is working. And yes, very informational, very intellectual, and I love it. Im having a great time here.

Taylor noted some of the community partnerships that have helped their youth to make long-lasting memories include Connecticuts Sierra Club Chapter, Bushnell Park, CT Youth Food Program Alliance, Sunrise Connecticut, Save The Sound, and others.

One of their highlighted activities this summer was at the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford, where Speaker of the House Matt Ritter was able to connect Taylor and their campers with a tour of the building, by his staff and help them learn about the inner workings of local government.

Matt Ritter let us tour the back rooms at the Capitol and really get a firsthand view of it. So you know, in that sense, I was [saying to the youths], you know, this is our power. This is our house, you belong here. You belong in a decision making process. You are important, Taylor said.

An element that Taylor hopes that campers will take away from their summer program is that they feel empowered, not exploited.

Another community partner that Taylor has teamed up with for the summer is Hartfords Proud Drill, Drum, and Dance Corp and CEO Terry Starks said that she can definitely see the benefit the camp has for participants.

The program definitely has positive impact. They also learn about recycling and painting and be exposed to the outside life, instead of the inside, Starks said. Last night, they learned about climate change. They were really, really excited because No.1, its in 3D.

So, definitely having a wonderful impact on these kids, Starks said.

While the camp has community partners and staff who help, Taylor said that they are solely responsible for making the camp possible, including making and accepting applications, filling out proper paperwork, contacting parents, and conducting payroll, which includes paying her campers $100 for each outing that they attend.

About paying campers to participate in outings, Taylor said that is done to be fair to the youths.

People just dont realize how powerless kids are in this in the grand scheme of things. Im just here to support and Im actually an adult that likes kids, Taylor said. So thats one of the main differences in our program. We are really just trying to understand and put youth into leadership. Some of the adults I work with, I have to remind them.

As an example of how the camp works to help create youth autonomy, Taylor noted that a camper was given a blank signup sheet for the day. One of the adult staff intervened and wanted it done a certain way, but Taylor told the staffer to allow the youth camper to start the sign in sheet their way.

Let him learn how to do the paper. People just try to take away youth autonomy so much, Taylor said. My purpose is civic engagement, an environmental lens, [along with] empowerment and autonomy for these kids. They will spend their whole lives being told no, you cant do this, and you cant do that. How do you expect somebody to be a leader after 18 years of their life? Theyve been told no, and then all of a sudden, I can do what I want. No.

Taylor said the camp also aims to keep participants engaged in a positive way.

A lot of crimes stem fromI dont want to pinpoint young people but like, when they say young people get into stuff, Im like, [they are just] trying to have money, trying to keep busy. My whole thing is youth being in trouble and being bad is just them not having anything to do, Taylor said. Its important to just keep them engaged. The other daywe were in a park and all our phones died. It was hot. They were complaining, but Im like, its better than being in the house just looking on your phone, honestly. So sorry. We [are] all hot and mad, but Id rather be here, than in the house for sure.

Learn more about The Non Profit Accountability Group here.

Go here to see the original:

This Hartford camp is working to build young leaders; it makes everybody feel included - Yahoo! Voices