Students Taking Action Toward Empowerment
S.T.A.T.E.
Students Taking Action Toward Empowerment (STATE) is a youth empowerment program that strives to build the next generation of social justice advocates in the New York neighborhoods such as Harlem, Inwood, Washington Heights, and the Bronx. STATE aims to reduce youth incarceration, school suspensions, and the negative interactions that young people have with the police and the criminal justice system.
STATE is a program of the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (NDS). NDS is a public defender office that serves low income residents of Upper Manhattan. A public defender is a free criminal defense lawyer who is provided to people who can't afford to hire a private lawyer. In addition to criminal defense lawyers, NDS provides immigration and housing lawyers as well as social workers, case workers, investigators, and other professionals who help people who are involved in the criminal justice system. For more information about NDS, please check out our website: http://www.ndsny.org
WHY WE TRAIN YOUTH ADVOCATES: Teenage residents of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx are increasingly criminalized and disempowered by authority figures (e.g., police, teachers and school administrators). Young people feel frustrated by a school system focused on high-stakes testing, angered by the effects of poverty and violence in their neighborhoods, and disrespected by zero-tolerance discipline and frequent police encounters. Without avenues to express these feelings or work toward constructive solutions and without information about their legal rights and how to address perceived violations of those rights, youth often respond with aggression and disruptive behavior. Youths' aggressive response leads to school suspension, arrest, and incarceration. We are giving young people the skills they need to effectively resolve conflicts and advocate for policy changes in their community.
HOW WE TRAIN YOUTH ADVOCATES: To achieve its goals, STATE trains participants in how to effectively exercise their legal rights, conflict resolution skills, video production, and community advocacy. STATE Youth Advocates present "Know Your Rights" workshops to their peers, schools, and community organizations. The "Know Your Rights" workshop is a curriculum set to educate people of their legal rights when confronted by the police. STATE staff also train high school students to identify the causes of conflict and social injustice in their schools and communities and advocate for creative and effective solutions.
STATE is a program of the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (NDS). NDS is a public defender office that serves low income residents of Upper Manhattan. A public defender is a free criminal defense lawyer who is provided to people who can't afford to hire a private lawyer. In addition to criminal defense lawyers, NDS provides immigration and housing lawyers as well as social workers, case workers, investigators, and other professionals who help people who are involved in the criminal justice system. For more information about NDS, please check out our website: http://www.ndsny.org
WHY WE TRAIN YOUTH ADVOCATES: Teenage residents of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx are increasingly criminalized and disempowered by authority figures (e.g., police, teachers and school administrators). Young people feel frustrated by a school system focused on high-stakes testing, angered by the effects of poverty and violence in their neighborhoods, and disrespected by zero-tolerance discipline and frequent police encounters. Without avenues to express these feelings or work toward constructive solutions and without information about their legal rights and how to address perceived violations of those rights, youth often respond with aggression and disruptive behavior. Youths' aggressive response leads to school suspension, arrest, and incarceration. We are giving young people the skills they need to effectively resolve conflicts and advocate for policy changes in their community.
HOW WE TRAIN YOUTH ADVOCATES: To achieve its goals, STATE trains participants in how to effectively exercise their legal rights, conflict resolution skills, video production, and community advocacy. STATE Youth Advocates present "Know Your Rights" workshops to their peers, schools, and community organizations. The "Know Your Rights" workshop is a curriculum set to educate people of their legal rights when confronted by the police. STATE staff also train high school students to identify the causes of conflict and social injustice in their schools and communities and advocate for creative and effective solutions.
