In the months following our reporting on youth gun violence in Oakland, El Tímpano invited community members to share their concerns, experiences, and hopes. For two Saturdays in August, we engaged with the community at the César E. Chávez Oakland Public Library branch and at a backpack giveaway at Tennyson High School in Hayward.
During our conversations with mostly mothers and some teachers, we heard about growing concern that young people lack adequate safe spaces and programs, leading to isolation and increased risk of turning to violence. They pointed to socio-economic factors, a lack of access to recreational activities, and peer pressure as significant influences on youth behavior. Many community members expressed feeling frustrated and afraid, but also strength and resilience among young people.
To accommodate participants at both events who felt uncomfortable sharing their names or faces with reporters, El Tímpano encouraged them to write a word or phrase that described their hopes and wants for the futures of young people.
Here are some of the responses of our community members. Some responses have been edited for clarity.
En los meses que siguieron nuestros reportajes sobre la violencia juvenil con armas de fuego en Oakland, El Tímpano invitó a miembros de la comunidad a compartir sus preocupaciones, experiencias y esperanzas. Durante dos sábados de agosto, nos reunimos con la comunidad en la sucursal de la Biblioteca Pública de Oakland César E. Chávez y en una entrega de mochilas en el instituto Tennyson de Hayward.
Durante nuestras conversaciones con la mayoría de ellas madres y algunos maestros, escuchamos la creciente preocupación de que los jóvenes carecen de espacios y programas seguros adecuados, lo que conduce al aislamiento y a un mayor riesgo de recurrir a la violencia. Señalaron factores socioeconómicos, la falta de acceso a actividades recreativas y la presión de los compañeros como influencias significativas en el comportamiento de los jóvenes. Muchos miembros de la comunidad expresaron su sentimiento de frustración y temor, pero también de fortaleza y resistencia entre los jóvenes.
Para acomodar a los participantes en ambos eventos que pudieran tener miedo de compartir sus nombres o rostros con los periodistas, El Tímpano les pidió que en su lugar escribieran una palabra o frase que describiera sus esperanzas y deseos para el futuro de los jóvenes.
Estas son algunas de sus respuestas. Algunas respuestas han sido editadas para mayor claridad.
María
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They need more resources to participate in programs. How to get involved in organizations in their communities.
They have the power because they are young and they also need resources where they can get money to motivate themselves, to get ahead, because sometimes in our homes there is a lot of poverty. So they have to help them to do productive things.
Judith
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To begin with, the youth in our community need more attention and love from their parents who often work a lot and don’t have time to spend with them so that they can inspire more confidence in talking about things that are going on with them or what they are feeling. They need a lot of programs and more support to get them involved or to motivate them to get involved, mostly in beneficial things like sports, arts, things that really interest them and keep them busy, as this will help them be more successful in life.
Felicitas
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They need some program or job that gives them some incentive to feel purposeful and to know that they have the ability to excel without focusing on violence.
Mirian
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Nowadays, young people like social media and all that, but they also abuse it a lot, because I feel that it absorbs a lot of time.
So I would like other activities such as lectures or if they are in a higher grade, what they would like to do for their work, such as robots and technology. But that it would be something that they wouldn’t just do on videos or on the phone, or on the Internet, but that they would manually do it as lessons. We [parents] don’t know how to investigate about that a lot of times because we don’t know where to ask or everything is in English. I think it would be good for them because they are interested in it.
Viridiana
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I would like to have more access to information on programs that already exist that my daughters can be involved in, whether it be sports, or community outreach that they can get involved in so they can have a better life.
Heather
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Creo que hay una falta de conocimiento del impacto que pueden tener las armas. Y cuando oigo hablar de violencia con armas de fuego, no creo que los jóvenes se den cuenta de que eso puede ser el final de una persona. Que los sobrevivientes vengan y hablen de lo que hacen las balas, esa educación, es muy revelador.
