Boston Public Health Commissioner Hears Voice of Youth

by Cathy Slade

How often do City of Boston department heads visit the neighborhoods to meet with young people? Not too often, I’ll bet you would say. How often do youth get the opportunity to set agendas and conduct meetings with city officials? If you guessed, not too often, you are right again. However, there’s a new commissioner in town and she is taking a different tack in serving the public.

Barbara Ferrer is the new Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, and she has set as a priority, making violence a public health issue and not just a public safety issue. Who is most affected by violence? Young people are. Who does the Commissioner want to hear from? You guessed it: young people.

Another of Ms. Ferrer’s priorities is addressing problems that affect the success of young people in school. The Commissioner’s keen interest in youth health could be the result of her having spent three years as principal of the Parkway Academy of Technology and Health at the West Roxbury High School complex. A dream of hers, she left her position as Assistant Director of the Commission to become the principal of the new school. She returned to the Commission when former Commissioner John Auerbach was tapped by the governor to head the State Department of Public Health.

Ms. Ferrer is visiting seven neighborhoods, and the third neighborhood she visited was ours. Healthy Roslindale’s Rossie Reps Youth Council was asked to organize and host the meeting. Youth groups and youth workers, parents, health professionals, and caring adults joined the Rossie Reps, their friends and youth members of the Roslindale Community Centers Cluster.

Anthony White welcomed the participants and thanked Ms. Ferrer for asking the Rossie Reps to organize the visit. He credited the Senior Policy Advisor, Maurice Myrie, with motivating the Reps to reach out to many in the community to participate. He explained that she had spent two sessions with him discussing what the Commissioner was trying to accomplish, and asking them what topics they would like to discuss. Nicky McGuffie, Natalie Desruisseaux and Aniela Petani each took a turn moderating a topic.

Armed with data on demographics, hospitalizations due to violence, self-reported knowledge of the ease of obtaining a gun, MCAS scores, dropout rates and more, the Commissioner came to hear the voice of youth. Among the questions asked were: What are your thoughts on the data? Are these statistics reflective of what is really going on in your lives? What can be done to curb violence? What are the positive factors that keep you in school? Do you have the support and tools to achieve, academically? The youth participants were very attentive, talkative and honest. The Commissioner listened intently.

On the topic of violence and trauma, the youth were particularly vocal about “snitching” and not calling 911 if witnessing a crime. Fear of retaliation is a huge factor in one’s decision not to get involved, as is the severity of the crime, whether or not the victim is familiar to them, and the chance that the perpetrator will recognize the caller. Discussion of the use of cell phones and text messaging to report crime left many questioning the anonymity promised by the police department. The youth felt there would be pressure by the police to identify the perpetrator in a line-up and to testify in court. The Medical Director of the Commission, Doctor Nancy Norman, will help set up a meeting with the police and youth of Roslindale to clarify the system’s intent and process.

Speaking on education, the youth in public schools stated that they do not have the resources that many in other schools have. Students related they did not have enough textbooks and workbooks to bring home for help and direction with assignments. A disparity in resources between exam schools and other public schools was noted. Many said they feel that their teachers neither expect enough from them nor encourage them to go on to higher education. If there was more concern shown from teachers and administrators, students feel they would perform better.

Mental Health was the third topic which the Rossie Reps were interested in discussing. While many thought nutrition was of huge concern, the youth discerned that mental health was a catchment for many of these issues. They reasoned that one’s mental health and emotional state affects one’s attitudes and behaviors, especially impacting violence, obesity, and drug use. If one cannot think clearly, control his or her emotions, and learn to solve problems effectively, it can lead to acting out, depression and poor eating habits. Youth discussed ways of reaching out to their friends if they are troubled. Aniela Petani left us with the poignant message that if we all cared more for each other, there would be far fewer problems.

It will be interesting to see what new initiatives will be undertaken when the Commissioner finishes talking to young people throughout the city. On October 27, she was quoted a few times in a “Boston Globe” article by Maria Cramer on a new city initiative to encourage youth to join some of the many youth programs in their neighborhoods as a preventative measure to crime. Commissioner Ferrer remarks that we need police presence, but we must move beyond that and work towards promoting a culture of nonviolence. Also, she mentioned conflict resolution and violence prevention curricula will be offered in every grade in the public schools, and that such education will also be offered to parents.

Is Commissioner Ferrer really that dedicated to hearing the voices of youth and working collaboratively to improve their lives? You bet she is. As of this writing, Healthy Roslindale and the Rossie Reps have been asked to schedule another forum to further the dialogue and announce new initiatives based on prior suggestions. Will Ms. Ferrer be successful? I bet she will. Boston has a relatively new Police Commissioner and Public School Superintendent, full support from Mayor Menino, a commitment of assistance and resources from neighborhood agencies and the business community, and a yearning by residents for peace and increased opportunities for youth. With everyone working cooperatively, how can she lose?