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"How do we get to the root cause and not just put a Band-Aid over the problem?"
David Shuffler, community organizer with YMPG, describing a challenge of his job. |
As a young teen, David Shuffler Jr. got involved with Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice (YMPJ) when his parents sent him to the group's summer program to keep him off the streets of the Soundview section of the Bronx, New York. Seven years later, he is on the staff and helping 200 other young people through a program of personal development and community organizing.
YMPJ was born when a local church was torched in 1992 in response to an anti-drug rally organized by the parish's community action group. The neighborhood's collective horror at the desecration of the church was channeled into a commitment to create a youth center open to people of all of the ethnic and faith backgrounds represented in the area. In after-school and summer programs, YMPJ guides youth ages six to 21 through a four-phased process that uses arts and physical fitness as an introduction to a curriculum of peace and justice. "We teach people how to assess critically their surroundings and organize campaigns to improve what they don't like," says Shuffler.
YMPJ members related the neighborhood's frustration with the sorry state of the local environment. "The Bronx River runs through our community, but there is limited public access to it," says Shuffler. "And there has been tremendous pollution from many sources, including a city-owned sewage treatment station.
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development gave money to YMPJ for its RIVER team project. "The RIVER team is reclaiming the waterfront," explains Shuffler, "by organizing cleanups, educational canoe tours and a campaign to fix up Starlight Park." The team's largest cleanup required help from the National Guard to remove 45 cars from the river. Since then, 500 people have taken the canoe trips, which point out local landmarks and encourage recreational use of the river.
The optimistically named Starlight Park is sandwiched between the Sheriden Expressway and the river. It lacks restrooms, lights, and water fountains and is accessible only by footbridge because there is no available parking. The RIVER team is advocating with state and local officials to improve access to the park and to convert the poorly designed and unsafe expressway into additional parkland.
Shuffler and his community are both benefiting from his involvement with the group. As a community organizer, he does research and lays the groundwork for YMPG's campaigns, plans meetings with community leaders and residents, and helps track the progress of the organization. He is also a college student, majoring in sociology, with a dream of becoming an elected official.
"Being part of YMPG has helped me to understand the community's needs and to be an advocate for the people," says Shuffler. In the future, he envisions YMPG "staying grounded in the things we believe. We are not the saviors of the Bronx River. We will always be a community organization, but we will be far better able to articulate the work we do and use it as a model for other youth organizations."
YMPJ achievements....
- Offers after-school and summer programs for youth ages six to 21.
- Organizes cleanups, educational canoe tours and a campaign to fix up the area's waterfront.
- Working with state and local officials to improve access to a riverside park and to secure additional parkland.
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