Youth Commission members discussed ways to get teens involved in community conversations about violence.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city's new Youth Commission got down to its business at its second regular meeting, electing officers and weighing in on the need to bring young people into an ongoing “community conversation” on youth, gangs, and violence.

"The reason I'm here is to ask your advice," said Adam Hinds, the city's Shannon Grant coordinator who is leading the informal partnership known as the Pittsfield Community Connection emerging out of a series of recent meetings in the wake of a youth-involved shooting in August.

Hinds said there have been six recent meetings in total, beginning with a large community summit that drew more than 250 residents to Morningside Community School last month. That meeting promulgated a "community action plan" that was developed "to identify what it is the city is doing wrong for local youth."

"We all kind of realized, where's the youth in this conversation?" said Hinds, who asked the commission's advice on the best ways to bring Pittsfield teens into the discussion.

Concepts such as whether to have another large, open community meeting specifically inviting young people, or try more targeted approaches, were debated by the commission.

Austin White suggested holding school assemblies for each grade, which other members added could then lead into smaller breakout sessions.

"I definitely think small groups are the way to approach talking to youth," said Bailey Prescott.

The Rev. Sheila Sholes-Ross of First Baptist Church said small groups are good, but it's important to make sure that the adults involved in the process are communicating with a broad base of local young people.

"I want to make sure we hear from all the kids," said Sholes-Ross. "There should be conversation and dialogue, to figure out what we're doing right and what we're doing wrong."

It was also made clear that thus far, even some of the local youth who are already very involved in the community are not really aware this ongoing city-sponsored "conversation" is going on.

"I didn't really hear about it until now," said Merudjina Normil.

Normil suggested that getting together with groups of students in shorter, but repeated sessions, might be useful in gaining trust and opening up better dialogue, perhaps in the form of once-a-month extended homeroom periods around the school system.

Hinds, who was hired earlier in 2014 to coordinate the city's outreach efforts to at-risk youth, said it really wasn't until the August shooting incident outside a Morningside neighborhood convenience store that these efforts really began to become visible.

"It brought us out of the woods a bit," Hinds told the commission. "After that we realized we needed some real community mobilization."

Hinds indicated a desire to keep interfacing with the Youth Commission to gather ideas and input in the future.

In other business, the commission cast votes to select two co-chairs, and four members who will serve as a supporting Executive Board for the commission. In total, the commission has 21 voting members, comprised of 14 members between 14-18 and seven adults, along with an additional five non-voting adult advisory members.

Three students self-nominated for the two co-chair positions, and five members put their hats in the ring for the four available seats on its executive board, all giving brief remarks in support of their candidacy.

Co-chair hopeful Reilly Lee stressed a familiarity with Open Meeting Laws and an understanding of collaboration among her strengths.

"By no means am I trying to suggest I know everything, I am painfully aware that I do not," Lee told her fellow commission members, who spoke of lessons in cooperation she'd learned during the past two years of high school. "Now I've found a much healthier approach to working with others, and I appreciate the benefits of collaboration."

"I felt if there was ever a group I should be a part of, it's the Pittsfield Youth Commission," said Merudjina Normil enthusiastically, also seeking a role as co-chair. "With the option of being co-chair, I feel that I would be able to add more to this committee."

Emma Stone cited her theater experience and connection with the local arts community as an asset, putting her name forth for both co-chair and executive board consideration.

"I feel strongly that there are problems in our city that are not being addressed sufficiently," said Stone. "I find that there can be a lot of blind optimism and that can be detrimental to our community."

Other candidates for the executive board included two youth members, Richard Garwood and Bailey Prescott, along with adults Ben Klein, and Ann Gallo, a newly added advisory member who has not formally been appointed to the commission.

"I know what hard work is," said Garwood. "I know what it takes to get your voice heard."

"I never used to be able to talk in front of anyone," said Prescott, who said her other volunteer civic experiences in recent years had greatly improved her ability to work with others. "I've gotten a lot stronger, a lot more confident, and have gained a greater sense of empathy for other people."

In an unorthodox methodology for a public body, votes were cast by secret ballot, and collected by Director of Administrative Services Julia Sabourin for later tallying. Voting and non-voting advisory members filled out anonymous ballots, with the latter marked to denote their non-voting status.

The outcomes of the vote have not yet been released, and no response was received to a subsequent request for the results on Friday.

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