Access to activities limited

from The Albany Time Union

Anti-violence advocates say summer programs fail to serve poor children

By TIM O'BRIEN, Staff writer

ALBANY -- Young people in the city's poorest neighborhoods are cheated out of access to summer programs that would get them away from streets plagued by violence, a group of church, civic and governmental leaders said Monday.

They said most of these seasonal recreation and educational activities are concentrated outside the neighborhoods where they are most needed.

The Inner City Youth and Family Coalition formed was last summer after the murder of 15-year-old Shahied Oliver in Arbor Hill. Its efforts gained renewed emphasis after 10-year-old Kathina Thomas was killed last month by a stray bullet outside her home in West Hill. On Monday, the group urged the city to provide $100,000 to bus young participants to programs beyond walking distance from their homes.

"Most of the services that are provided for children are out of the way," said Allahson Allah, whose sister, Glenda "Pam" Jones, was killed five years ago while holding her toddler. "Our children today are getting shot in the street. Our children are witnessing violence and drug dealing. Our children have lost respect for us. We need to find aid that is going to help our children find a better way. If not, there will be more death, there will be more crime, there will be more drug selling."

Allah said he wants to see a Kathina Thomas Center opened in her West Hill neighborhood.

Coalition member Fareed Michelen, who is outreach director for the Capital District Area Labor Federation, said poverty is the root cause of the violence. Forty percent of children in the city's most troubled neighborhoods live below the poverty line, he said.

"Most of these parents are working two or three jobs a day, and their time with their children a day is limited," he said.

Mayor Jerry Jennings said Albany offers youth programs throughout the city and is employing 1,500 teens this summer. Community organizations need to work together to determine what programs exist, he said, and then decide how to fill any gaps.

"What we need is cooperation," he said. "We need the school district to cooperate, the churches to cooperate."

Recreation Commissioner John D'Antonio said the city created a fitness center at Lincoln Park that draws 475 kids, and its boxing program on Quail Street draws 130. All the city's programs are free, he noted.

Some of the summer programs are quickly filled. At Trinity Institution, about 60 children participate in a six-week summer camp that runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each weekday. It is held at the nonprofit's location in the Mansion neighborhood.

"We probably have over 100 kids on a waiting list," said Corey Ellis, director of Trinity's Family Neighborhood Resource Center and a member of the Common Council.

At The College of Saint Rose, the Summer Academy for Youth offers six weeks of programs, with a different theme each week for students in grades 6 through 10. Parents can sign up for as many weeks as they want. College spokesman Ben Marvin said few slots are available for disadvantaged children.

The Arbor Hill Community Center offers two summer programs. Both are full. The Youth Empowerment and Mentoring Program includes some 65 children, while the Afterschool Crafts and Arts, Recreation and Education program has room for 30 children.

"The waiting list for that is endless," said Stephanie Robinson-Brown, an administrative assistant. "I have parents calling all the time."

Link to full article. May expire in future.