ROCHESTER

Eastside

616 N. Goodman St., Rochester, NY 14609

Westside

373 Genesee Street, Rochester, NY 14611
(585) 697-3464

Northside

Encompass Campus, 16 Lakeview Park, Rochester, NY 14613

ROCHESTER PROGRAMS & INITIATIVES

YOUTH ORGANIZING

Since 2003, Teen Empowerment Rochester has provided life-changing opportunities to hundreds of youth in the City of Rochester. Through their involvement, these inspiring individuals have mobilized thousands of their peers, adults, and community leaders to participate in youth-led initiatives that drive change.

CITYWIDE INITIATIVES

Solutions Not Suspensions

At the systems level, young people continue to use their voices at both local and state levels to educate policymakers on the harm of public school suspension - both from an educational and mental health standpoint - and to call them to action.

Youth Organizers traveled to Albany three times between January-May 2023 to advocate for passage of a Solutions Not Suspensions (SNS) bill in the state legislature. This legislation would ban suspending Pre-K through 3rd grade students statewide. While the bill did not pass, we gained great momentum among legislators for future.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Reconnections

The Center for Teen Empowerment (TE) is expanding our core youth organizing program to partner with the hardest to reach youth including systems- and street-involved, and those are over-age and under-credited. The focus is to reconnect youth to peers and community, find healing and build skills, avoid recidivism and encourage their voices to influence community change.

Goals of Reconnections include:

  • Employ and stabilize deeply disconnected youth

  • Facilitate interactive healing through the Teen Empowerment Model™ and culturally responsive restorative practices

  • Bolster leadership and opportunities to speak, facilitate and organize social change initiatives

  • Mentor through sessions with elders and former participants

  • Build youth confidence and skill to use their voices to involve and influence larger numbers of their peers and adults in change initiatives

  • Advocate alongside young people to navigate educational, legal, family and other systems

  • Transition participants to more elevated youth organizer roles at TE neighborhood sites

  • Position youth to set and achieve personal, career and life goals

Clarissa Uprooted poster

Clarissa Uprooted

The Intergenerational History Ambassadors Project is a powerful partnership that brings together TE Youth History Ambassadors with elders who grew up in the vibrant Third Ward/Clarissa Street neighborhood. Together, they embark on a captivating journey to uncover the hidden narrative of an African-American business, cultural, and residential district. ClarissaUprooted.org

OUR IMPACT

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    622 youth hired in leadership roles since 2003

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    TE Youth Organizers have catalyzed systemic changes in school funding equity, solutions not suspensions, mental health and more

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    94% of youth report TE initiatives make them more hopeful about our community