We are highlighting this organization because it engages in a “community justice”-oriented approach to political change.
The Center for Teen Empowerment is a youth organizing and social change program that has sites in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Somerville, MA, and in Rochester, NY. At each site, Teen Empowerment hires a group of youth, ages 14-21, and trains them as community organizers, providing them with the support, resources, and ongoing training they need to organize initiatives that involve both youth and adults in addressing community issues.
Example of their community justice framework:
Teen Empowerment inspires young people, and the adults who work with them, to think deeply about the most difficult social problems in their communities, and gives them the tools they need to work with others in creating significant positive change.
Types of projects and programs:
- Youth organizing
- Youth peace conferences
- Consulting, workshops, and training