Dear Cleveland: We're ready to talk, will you take us seriously?

Some are unsure of what to say, while others are just very nervous about explaining our ideas to a large group.

I am slightly nervous but not enough for those around me to detect.  As one of the oldest council members, at 22, and leader in the group, I feel like I have to set the stage. If I show nerves, then the rest of the group might do the same.

“Welcome to the EYEJ Impact 25 Youth Council final presentation,” I begin, putting on a brave face.

Image

Tim Harrison, Special to The Plain Dealer

Once we've finished, I think each of the young people involved could feel the project coming to a point where we are truly prepared to share our work with Cleveland.

Our Social Venture Partners advisors helped us with advice to “speak more slowly” and to “elaborate on the processes,” and “make sure the audience has time to understand you.”

We are all very excited to pitch our ideas, and each young person involved is proud to have contributed to our effort. 

We all want to create change in this city that is our home, and we hope that the solutions we have put forth will be taken seriously and built upon in the near future to be the catalyst of that change that we desire. 

When we started this journey in November, we had more questions than answers. We were a group of young people from across Cleveland, who all wanted to make a change in some substantial way to help our city be a better place for our peers, our students, our family members, and for the generations that will come after us.

During our first meeting we learned we were passionate about many things.

Each council member had their own personal story that contributed to the path this project took.

Some experienced sexual assault, others had mental health issues that were addressed improperly by authorities or employers, and one was recruited by a local gang and had to try to get out before that was made impossible.

Our task during our Saturday sessions was to chose from these problems and come up with a well-supported solution.

It was hard.

There were just so many issues that our youth face.

But we had help.

Pitching in

Cleveland Community Policing Bureau Commander Johnny Johnson jokes around with council member Tony Hoskins, 15. Johnson brought several officers to discuss the council's proposed solutions and to help make a video for their presentation on April 30.

Sneak peak

Cleveland police officers help council members with a video they decided to film that shows both youth and police perspectives on how build better relationships.

"Things are coming along"

Sophia Higginbottom (above) talks about how advice from officers helped the council form its proposals and about preparing for the before the big presentation to Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams and other community leaders.

Trust the process

Image

Rachel Dissell, The Plain Dealer

We had doubts as to whether the work we were trying to do could bring about any real or lasting change.

"Trust the process," Mai Moore, who founded EYEJ and organized the council told us.

Along the way, we realized the things we cared about all fit under larger umbrellas: social awareness education, police and youth relationships, and life skills.