New Haven Independent

In an initiative called the Youth Management Leadership Program, funded by a grant from Empower New Haven, six local kids are being paid a stipend to conduct formal surveys and then to report back to the adult management team. The idea is both to gather useful information, but also to turn on kids to become the grassroots leaders of the future.

All ten management districts were offered to participate, According to Diane Ecton, one of Fair Haven’s coordinators of the program, only two — Fair Haven and Dwight — are doing so. In addition to the six stipended young people, who were selected based on their history of volunteerism in the community, there are five others also doing the surveys on a volunteer basis.

Rachel Rosario is an entering freshman at UConn, where Joel Teron, in the center, is already a student. Adrian Green will be a sophomore at Coop Arts and Humanities High School.

Walking always accompanied by an adult, and only during daylight hours, the young canvassers have the dual mission of reaching out to their peers as well as completing 300 surveys in about three weeks time and then to report to the grown-ups in October.

How was it going so far? Rosario said that her most striking encounter to date was talking to a young man who lived near the home of the Cruz family on Atwater Street, near where Emilio Cruz was recently killed in a robbery.

“He was really scared,” she said. “He was 21, the same age as Emilio. I mean shaken. So far a sense of safety, of security is what’s on people’s minds.”

Adrian Green said he was in it in order to change New Haven for the better. And Joel Teron said that would take the form of establishing a permanent ongoing youth management team. “When the survey program is over, we’ll decide how to do it in tandem with the adult management team. But we’re not sure yet.”

The young peoples’ motto for the project, which they worked out with their peers at the Dwight management team in a kick-off party last week, is: “Tomorrow’s leaders working for you today.”

Can’t you see the caps and T-shirts already?