Youth Curfew Bombs With Adults, Too

by Melinda Tuhus | December 7, 2006 8:32 AM | | Comments (11)

Henry Lowendorf (pictured) told an audience at City Hall how much of New Haveners’ tax dollars are going to the war in Iraq, what that money could do at home “” and what that has to do with a proposed youth curfew. He was one of many adults who voiced their opinions on the curfew at the third hearing on the subject in the past week, the first open to people over 20.

Lowendorf, the head of the Greater New Haven Peace Council, said the youth curfew is not the answer. The curfew, under consideration by the Board of Aldermen, would ban people under 18 from being out in public between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless they’re coming from a religious event.

Lowendorf pointed to the loss of $184 million in tax dollars, and counting, that the war has sucked from New Haven (according to the National Priorities Project). “Our country spends $250 million every day to carry out the war in Iraq,” he said. “Our beautiful New Haven’s portion of that is $122,000”¦ going into death and destruction. Could the city use an extra $122,000 every day? That’s $45 million every year.” The audience answered with cheers and applause.

Lowendorf said money could go to building youth centers, funding programs and creating jobs. And he suggested there are three cost-free ways the Board of Aldermen can turn the situation around: help parents and students opt out of having to deal with military recruiters in school; ask federal elected officials to co-sponsor a bill in Congress to defund the war, and ask other municipalities in the state to do the same. ( Click here to read the details.)

It became clear early on that most of those who testified Wednesday night, like almost all the youth who testified at two earlier hearings, oppose the curfew. They predicted it would be administered unfairly (targeting youth in certain areas or of certain ethnic backgrounds), because curfews have not been shown to reduce crime, because it would not be a good use of police resources (and would increase the mistrust between cops and kids) or because it would be just plain impractical.

East Rock Alderman Ed Mattison asked speakers who were opposed to spend some of their allotted time talking about their ideas for solutions to teen violence, which is what the curfew is supposed to address.

Rabbi Peter Stein (pictured) mentioned most of the above reasons for why he opposed it, then advocated building personal relationships with young people as one component of a solution. “If they’re out in the streets, then more of us need to be out in the streets.” He also put in a plug for more community policing and more community centers.

A few young people were repeat-testifiers, like Moses Jean (pictured), a high school junior. When he spoke at one of the youth forums last week about his idea for a place where teens could come to engage in all forms of visual and performance art, Westville Alderwoman Ina Silverman challenged him to come up with a business plan. So on Wednesday night he came to say he and some other teens had done that, and now needed help from the city to find space to realize their dream. Maybe with some of the money that could be redirected from the war”¦ Aldermanic Youth Committee chair Bitsie Clark said, “I promise you we will follow up with you.”

Just about the only people to speak in favor of the curfew were three African-American mothers and grandmothers (like Theresa Howard, pictured). They spoke of how youngsters are victimized by older youth who lure them into illegal activities after school and of their struggles to keep tabs on their kids in the evening. The proposed 10 p.m. curfew wouldn’t have any effect on the activities of kids after school, but in any case the women all called a curfew a desperately needed tool in their arsenal to help their children survive. Click here to listen to grandmother Cheryl Wilson’s plea/demand for community responsibility.

Doug Bethea, a youth drill team leader whose son, Robert Scott Bennett, was killed last week, spoke passionately about the need for more activities for youth.

A number of people who spoke focused on the need to get guns out of the hands of young people, and saw a curfew as irrelevant in accomplishing that goal.

Long-time youth worker Kaye Harvey (pictured) said, “I am opposed to the curfew because it is masked as a cure instead of the prevention that is needed to end the violence.” She parsed the city’s 2006-07 budget to see where money for youth programming is being allocated. She said she and other concerned youth advocates will continue to analyze the budget and try to find more money for youth programming. “As each line item is evaluated,” she said, “questions will be generated and we will seek explanations from you, the Board of Aldermen, who approves the budget.”

At least one member of the board was delighted to hear about citizens scrutinizing the budget over the board’s shoulder “” downtown’s Bitsie Clark (pictured), who as chair of the aldermanic Youth Committee convened a committee of the whole to listen to community input regarding the curfew and who presided over the three hearings. When the third and final hearing wound up after almost four hours, Clark was pleased. “What I hoped would happen is that it wouldn’t be polarized but that it would be a community dialogue in which people could talk about how they could help, how they could participate, and that’s actually what’s started to happen,” she said. “You don’t want to have that dialogue and have nothing happen. The aldermen have to think about next steps. We will deliberate next week, and probably vote [on some proposal] in January. Our biggest challenge is where do we get the resources for things that people have said so clearly need to be done.”







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Comments

Posted by: TSN | December 8, 2006 12:05 AM

Sorry kiddies, it is time for a time out. Curfew now. Behave appropiately, and then you will be given the deserved priviledges.

New Haven needs a big time out. Curfew now. Get a control of our neighborhoods and the kiddies.

Posted by: Cedar Hill Resident | December 8, 2006 12:47 PM

I have thought about this a great deal. I think the Curfew is needed. The kids that showed up at these gatherings we had are most likely the kids that don't need a curfew. And it is needed more for the kids under sixteen that don't take an active rule in there surroundings. Maybe just a temp. one, just to get the city under control again. This summer I saw children out on the streets at 12 at night these were not late teens these were young teens. It may not lower the crime rate right now but I think we may stop a few new "bad guys" from being created. I agree with the women who said that youngsters are victimized by older youth. I see it in our area. It starts as look outs, stealing radios and plates and then grows to dealing and even worse things. The "bad guys" know that if these kids are out this late that they may be in a home situation that is not so great and they become a twisted idea of a role model to these children teaching how to make money for thing other kids have and they don't. I relized that it should not be our jobs to monitor and that the money should be but twords programs but I have to say at risk children to whom we would be developing these programs to save are not going to be using the programs. That is the simple truth. Setting up arts and craft programs is not the answer. You need officers in the community like the ones I read about a few weeks ago here to target the at risk kids in ways they can relate to. You need to idetify these children and set up programs that will attact these kids to use them. But in the mean time I think that the Curfew is not a cure it may help identify some at risk kids who have been lost in the system.

Posted by: pinkbicycle | December 8, 2006 9:14 PM

So how does the curfew solve the youth violence iise. And when youth crimes happem well before 10pm what then? I think this is ridiculous. We want th e violenc to stop. But somehow I am convinced that we are not being open and honestwith the needs of our youth, We beleive that by enacting a 10pm curfew will be the magic pill and it won't. Yes I beleive that kids ought to be in the house by 10:00pm, but if your homelife is fucked-up what is the point. I know for me, being outside my home was much more safer than being inside. What is the plan? Let's spend time doing the necessary work to protect and honor youth. And be so quick to see them as a problem

Posted by: Amber | December 12, 2006 8:23 AM

Parents could control their kids but some just choose not to. Some parents believe that there’s no point in trying to control their kids when they’re still going to rebel.

Posted by: Stanford Dent | December 12, 2006 8:28 AM

I disagree

I disagree because nobody wants to come in the house early when there are house parties, clubs, movies, and more.

Posted by: Marquis T. | December 12, 2006 8:32 AM

I disagree it shouldn’t be a curfew in effect for kids under 18 because I work late sometimes I don’t be doing nothing its just them certain kids that should be targeted. It’s also going to movies or to parties that’s an all night affair what about that.

Posted by: Shaila | December 12, 2006 8:34 AM

Shoeshay07@aol.com


I think that bfair is very smart! I totally agree with the point of view of this person. He provided adequate examples to support his point of view and he realizes that the youth know the answer. A major problem that I fear is that the people that hold the power in the community will not really listen to the young people; they only gave them [us] the opportunity to speak, to look like they care. I hope, just like bfair, that they really take into consideration the needs of the youth.

Posted by: Marcus Parsons | December 12, 2006 8:35 AM

I think the curfew isn't going to pass, and it wouldn't solve anything. Kids out here can still cause violence in broad daylight. You see, Joyce Chen didn't think about that right there. It's not the kids fault, it is the parents fault because some parents don't care what their kids do in the streets.The kids need to be in a youth program instead of shooting each other.

Posted by: Shaleda Cherry | December 12, 2006 8:45 AM

In my town all you need is to make a community center somewhere around the neighborhood. Because by the teenagers not having anything to do, it make’s them want to go outside and do other things like being involved in gangs in different parts of New Haven. They think that shooting people is cute. So they want to be a part of the gangs for them to be known. It’s not the fact that the parents don’t care about them, it’s because some children don’t listen to their parents, some do what they want to do regardless of who the parents are. If it was left up to me, I will take all the empty community centers and reopen them because all people are doing now is complaining about how abandoned building are not being used. These buildings can be used for teenagers and also after school programs. If the city was really interested in stopping youth violence they would be thinking about more youth activities rather than youth having a curfew

Posted by: Patrick | December 12, 2006 11:01 AM

Youth Today, the national trade newspaper for youth workers, recently published a story about youth curfews -- looking at the evidence of effectiveness (there is little) and why communities adopt them anyway. You can view the story at www.youthtoday.org/youthtoday. Click on the "juvenile justice" story under the current issue. If the story gets moved to the archives, you can find it under the November issue.

We would like to follow what happens in New Haven, particularly with regard to the development of new youth programs in response to this proposal.

Patrick Boyle, Editor. pboyle@youthtoday.org.

Posted by: Cedar Hill Resident | December 12, 2006 4:35 PM

pinkbicycle I do support some kind of curfew but I have to say you did make me think.... I never really looked at it in the way you pointed out.. your comment

"I know for me, being outside my home was much more safer than being inside."

Which is the sad and honest truth.

I am sorry that it was that way. It is people like you that need to be at these meetings and people like you that should be involved in setting up these programs so that people like you can have a safe place to go.
Again I am sorry that this has happened to you. And I do hope that you make a difference in the world to save the next child.

You struck a cord in my heart.

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