Mar 11, 2007

Hundreds attend Youth Summit

East Palo Alto meeting spreads positive messages

By Banks Albach / Daily News Staff Writer

The messages were clear at the Goin' Smart Youth Summit in East Palo Alto on Saturday: Stay away from violence, keep on a track to college and care about yourself so you can make a difference in your community.

Eight months in the making, the summit at Costano Elementary School drew a crowd of about 500, mostly people under 25 years old. They slammed poetry, competed in a talent show, listened to former gang members and quizzed county officials and politicians.

"I've seen stuff like this before, but never so unified," said Young Cortez, 15.

Cortez said one workshop was especially moving. About 45 people listened to four former gang members describe the tragedies and final decisions that delivered them into a life of activism.

One of them was Dominic Blanks, 32, who was active in gangs during East Palo Alto's bloodiest years in the early 1990s.

"That was our generation," he said. "I'm trying to make sure that these kids don't follow in the same footsteps I did."

That's the kind of message that 12-year-old Chrishane Neal said makes an impression.

"It kind of steers you away from that life and makes you want to go to college," she said.

In the school's auditorium, teens moved between tables and perused information on college scholarships, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and parental rights and responsibilities. Six teens signed up to apply for the city's Youth Advisory Council, a defunct commission of high school students that the City Council wants to revive.

With East Palo Alto experiencing a noticeable lull in violence over the past six weeks, Police Chief Ron Davis pointed to law enforcement and community efforts, such as the summit, as the reason.

"It's another example of the community working together toward a long-term solution to crime," Davis said.

A young crowd lined up to question a panel that included officials from the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, the county's probation department, politicians from East Palo Alto and neighboring cities, and the county's board of supervisors.

What are you doing for the environment? When can a criminal record be expunged? Why are there no sidewalks in midtown and so many potholes in the city? Why don't developers build more affordable housing? Those were some of the questions they asked.

One question that shed light on what is missing from the tightknit community came from Aarios Roy, 17.

"What's the latest progress on East Palo Alto having its own public high school?" Roy asked.

Ravenswood City School District Superintendent Maria Meza De La Vega said Sequoia Union High School District has the answer.

The main organization behind the summit, One East Palo, sought donations for the event. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation kicked in $10,000, the San Mateo County Human Services Agency gave $5,000 and the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation donated $2,000.

But the message came from elsewhere.

"It's about how you feel about yourself," said Kenny Jones, 15. "It's all about people and their self-esteem."


E-mail Banks Albach at balbach@dailynewsgroup.com.