New Haven Independent

The two teens are Javaughn “J.J.” Harris and Caprice Taylor. (Caprice is pictured between her younger brother Marcus and J.J.’s brother James.)

J.J. and Caprice noticed that they spend a lot of time looking after younger kids on their block of Thompson Street, just hanging out. They noticed that the block has lots of younger kids — by their count, around 15 of them just between the ages of 9 and 12. And they noticed that, as deadly violence broke out among young people last summer, the kids were drawing unwarranted attention from cops and drug dealers alike.

So Harris and Taylor came up with a plan: A summer of organized activities for those younger kids this time around. They formed the Thompson Street Youth Coalition. (Motto: “we want us the youth to have opportunities and not become another statistic.” Click here for their group description.) They drew up a detailed budget and activities for five weeks of daytime programs, including skating, bowling and museum trips; they hope to involve parents and other family members on the block.

Now they’re seeking donations to pay for it. They may be too late to apply for the summer grants the Mayor’s Youth Initiative announced Wednesday. They’re appealing to local businesses (Click here to read a letter they sent) as well as to other local donors to put them in business.

The budget includes paying Caprice and J.J. minimum wage to run the program, so they don’t need to find other summer jobs that would conflict.

“Summer is when kids hang out,” on porches, on the street, noted Caprice, 15, who often babysits on Thompson Street. A sophomore at New Haven Academy, Caprice hopes to become an attorney or a teacher.

Two 13-year-olds were killed by stray bullets in New Haven neighborhoods last summer. The gang responsible for shooting Jajuana Cole came from Newhallville. Caprice and J.J. worried that the younger kids would start looking up to the gang-bangers. “We want to be role models” instead and give the kids productive ways to spend their time, Caprice said.

Meanwhile, they noticed the police patrolling the street and glaring at all the kids hanging out, including little kids causing no trouble. “The police stopped by a lot. They looked at [the kids] suspiciously, like we were doing something wrong,” J.J. said. So, they figured, why not organizing something right to do?

J.J. (pictured), 16, is a serious-minded, poised junior at Metropolitan Business Academy. He plans to study graphic design and desktop publishing in college. He has been active since 9 years old in Solar Youth, an environmental youth program in town. Over time he assumed more of a role looking after younger kids in the program.

“J.J. is a great illustration of how providing young people with the tools for social change empowers them to become problem-solvers in their own communities,” observed Solar Youth’s executive director, Joanne Sciulli. “From the first day we met him in 2000, J.J. has been an entrepreneur — not just talking about, but starting his own little businesses. He is now using that talent to help his community. We are incredibly proud of him, and will continue to support him however we can.”

J.J. and Caprice plan an afternoon street fair on June 23 to kick off their program. The daily program would then run from July 6 to Aug. 10, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays.

That all assumes either private donors or government or not-for-profits in town can find $5,000 or so among them to help young people in one New Haven hot spot take control of their community, for the better. (Contact info: Thompson Street Youth Coalition, 73-75 Thompson St. New Haven, CT 06511; (203) 773-0200.) Here’s betting that our city is up to the challenge.

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