Most teenagers remain isolated and disengaged from the civic and cultural life of their communities and surrounding neighborhoods. And the programs available to them often target a single cultural population, isolating them even further.

For example, New York City has the highest rate of sexual attacks in schools of any school district in the U.S. (Source: The New York Times; June 3, 2001). And, while white youth make up 35% of the youth population in the city, only 16% of the public school population is white. Research also found that New York leads the country in segregation for black students and is ranked second nationally for segregation for Latino students (Source: NCES Common Core of Data).

The teenage years are a time of uncertainty and doubt. The students who come to City at Peace-New York regularly confess that they suffer from lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem, and that there is little in their lives to be proud of. In a pre-program survey of City at Peace-New York participants, 96% of participants acknowledged that they frequently felt left out, 70% say they seldom or never feel safe in their neighborhoods, 33% have a friend or family member who is HIV positive, and 33% have a friend or family member killed by gun violence.

Participants have also identified numerous other negative influences that affect their lives and choices, including family conflicts, discrimination and violence against GLBT youth, peer pressure, racism and gender inequities. The risks for youth and their segregation in New York City abound and few programs are available to meet their complex needs or ameliorate these negative conditions.

As our reputation grows, demand for City at Peace-New York rises. With only relatively limited outreach for this program, the need for our program is demonstrated by the large number of young people auditioning for the program (over 170 in 2003) and the enthusiasm from teachers, guidance counselors, parents and youth alike who see the concrete results of City at Peace-New York and want to be a part of it. This year, 100 teenagers who auditioned for the program had to be turned away due to lack of resources.

It is important to give our youth a positive sense of future. Studies show that young people who can envision themselves in their future are less likely to commit violence and more likely to make healthy and purposeful choices in their lives (Benson, 1996). Conversely, young people who believe they will be victims of violence or that their lives are governed by fate, circumstance or are beyond their own control, are more likely to engage in unsafe sex and alcohol and drug abuse. City at Peace-New York addresses the negative influences in the lives of youth and transforms their potential into positive action.

In Their Words: What CITY AT PEACE Youth Have to Say

Since 1994, over 1,200 youth have completed the City at Peace program. Some have also served on the Production Team (the youth responsible for leading the program). Because they say so, we know that City at Peace has satisfied profound needs for them. Because the program is led by youth, we know that we will always be responsive to whatever needs our young people face.

What follows are some of our youth's words about why they needed City at Peace and why other young people should have the opportunity to experience it in their communities.

"City at Peace helped me get my life and my thoughts together. At a time in my life when I didn't want to stay in school and when things just didn't seem worth it and people just seemed like blood-sucking monsters, it was enough to hear that people cared and they wanted to talk and find a solution and make things better. And that made me care again. Which in turn made my relationship with my family better, as well as with my friends, teachers, coaches and other people in my community. The world wasn't out to get me anymore and I wasn't out to get them either. The drive of the people around me and the skills the program offers were invaluable."

"I think a City at Peace program is beneficial to any community. It gets people together in a safe place to talk about the things that really effect them and their worlds and gives them tools to do something about it. It seems like teenagers today, like any other day, have so much to say and have trouble finding people to listen and react and help."

"We come together to achieve one unified goal--to create a City at Peace. First, however, we make peace within ourselves. We face our lives--the joys, the pains, the betrayals and the abandonment--and we turn it into a positive. We attempt to understand each other in a way that the world around us won't let us. In City at Peace, barriers crumble and our inhibitions are set free as we, a small piece of the New York rainbow, delve into ourselves and each other, who we are and what we hope to become."

"One reason we need City at Peace is that, without it, I very well might not be alive today. I wanted to kill myself so much back when I first started with City at Peace. I'm sure there are others out there who have felt the same way. A combination of many things, but mostly many people, turned me away from that idea. And I know now that I will never consider suicide again simply because of the effect it would have on the people I love, many who are from City at Peace."

 

"During my time in City at Peace, I had the opportunity to learn what it is like to lead a diverse group of young men and women, and achieve the most important part of my learning-- passing on the skills I learned. In collaboration with fellow cast members I helped to lead an outreach and education program on conflict resolution and basic life skills at a public elementary school. I took complete responsibility for this program. The fact that a great deal of the success of this program rested on my shoulders gave me a real taste of what life after high school would demand from me: the ability to push through in the face of challenges, to accept the responsibility for my own successes and failures, to pick myself up when I fall, and to ask for help when I need it. In the end, I went forward with the knowledge that I had created and executed a program that changed the lives of the kids and cast members who learned to work together. With this knowledge of the great things that I can accomplish with the people around me, I was well prepared, and committed, to finding new ways to pass it on again."

 

"City at Peace is what changed my GPA from a 1.2 to a 3.714 and changed my feeling of hopelessness. I tell everyone that. I learned from my experiences with City at Peace that hard work, responsibility and perseverance count. I finally understood that it takes time, application and investing in a process to achieve the life you want to be living. It wasn't people just telling me that--I truly experienced it by sticking with the work and by actualizing the show. Perhaps one of the biggest rewards of working with City at Peace was that I saw that by making a difference in other people's lives, by helping other people, I could make a difference in my own life and help myself. I learned that my voice mattered."

 

"City at Peace is where you can express yourself and not be judged. It is open arms, and big smiles. Lots of laughs and lots of dedication. What we want to achieve is in our hands and what we aim for is with within reach."

 

"There is a trust bond there and a sense of belonging. You can express yourself in any form of way. It has also helped me communicate with my parents and my friends, my grades have also improved. City at Peace has made a positive impact on my life and now I know how important life is to me as a teenager. I love City at Peace and I would not trade it for anything in the world!!"

 

"Today's world isn't safe, especially not for teenagers. People tend to associate with their cultures and their dictated social classes, rather than trying to cross the boundaries and walls that people put up around them selves. Every Saturday, teenagers from all walks of life, take the steps to cross those boundaries and break down those walls that separate the society around us. We learn how to deal with problems instead of run away from them. We get to spend time with people we normally wouldn't give a chance to. We get to express ourselves through the arts and have fun."

 

"City at Peace has helped me over come my inner demons. Before I started City at Peace I had very low self esteem and I was a very depressed person because I thought I was the only person my age who was having the problems I was having, but I met people who were there for me and who have helped me be the person I am today. This is my second year in City at Peace and I have met people who I know are going to be life long friends."

 

We want to thank you so much for providing our daughter with such a great experience these past few years. Her time spent with City at Peace has greatly contributed to her successful navigation of these incredibly difficult adolescent years, as your wonderful shows so explicitly convey.

 

I am no longer influenced by negative pressures to conform to what society expects from me. I am tired of teenagers accepting mediocrity, and I am tired of adults expecting us to be mediocre. Here I have a voice. I am not censored from being who I want to and can be.

 

City at Peace has been there for me at every step and helped me become the person I am today.

 

City at Peace has gotten me through some of my hardest times, and though there were many times I wanted to give up in both city at peace and in life, I managed to pull through. I know I could not have done it if I did not have City at Peace. I have learned how to deal with life and any struggle I meet.

 

City at Peace has installed in me, the most vital skill that any human could possess. Communication. I have learned not only to talk, but more importantly, listen. City at Peace has guided me in a direction of hope. I've learned to challenge humanity at its worst.”

 

City at Peace has opened my eyes in this society. I've become aware of the many issues that strike adolescents in their everyday life. I know that City at Peace will help me and others find the courage to take a stand and speak our minds. Our creativity will soon bring light to those who may now feel lost and even to those who just want to reach out and help.

 

I can honestly write that his participation in CPNY has changed his life. I a amazed at all you have accomplished.

 

Now that I am in my second year of City at Peace, I feel like I am a totally new person. I have confidence in my step. I know how the world works, and I now am fighting to change the negative aspects. I embrace change in all forms now, and have no fear of such discomfort. I really am a new man.