We Embolden these Youth to Stand in their Power

San Francisco has disconnected itself from the Bayview neighborhood.  Here is how we are mending the disconnect and building up its next generation from the inside. 

Bayview-Hunters Point has persisted in a decades-long fight against the economic, racial and social walls in place around it. The work of City of Dreams aims to continue tearing down this adversity by educating the next generation of Black individuals.  While many of our programs are catered to elementary and middle school aged children, the repercussions of poverty remain present in the lives of the kids who grow up.  To serve them, we took a different approach. 

Ground Zero was established by Macio Dickerson, a well-known community and youth advocate of over 20 years.  The course, catered to teens and young adults, is designed to encourage the development of autonomy as they navigate decision making of their own.  Meeting once a week, the group engages in discussion on topics of mental health, financial literacy, how to participate in meaningful work, safe social practices, and spirituality.  The course was developed using principles of brain development and positive psychology that are meant to promote a retraining of the brain from trauma response to security in themselves.  

We have recently introduced Ground Zero Girls, led by Zenaida Barr, a trusted youth advocate, life skills coach and entrepreneur with roots in Bayview.  Zenaida’s role ensures that the young women of our community have a safe place to express their needs, ask questions, and be recognized for their individuality. 

Why is this work so important to Bayview residents? 

Thirty-nine percent of Bayview residents live below 200% of the poverty line.  Thirty percent of households make $30,000 or less a year.  The other 70% make less than the median income among SF residents.  The section of Bayview we serve makes the least amount of money, at $22,000 per year respectively.  With this in mind, many of the families remain within the confines of the secluded neighborhood.  Tending to this fact, thoughtful, personalized education and space for expression is paramount to overcoming the cycle.  Extending their opportunity bracket to outside the walls of the disconnected neighborhood can positively contribute to rebuilding the community.   Ground Zero incorporates career-based discussions, workshops, and application support.  The education in Bayview at present has proven to not uphold career-based learning as equally important.  Nor is student retention a strength in the neighborhood’s education system.  

It’s important to note, and to also over-stress to the youth, that this phenomenon is not their fault.  

Ground Zero invites young adults to redefine themselves and the notions they have been exposed to throughout their childhoods in public housing.  Negative assumptions surrounding school, social life, and job culture hold them back from seeking out opportunities and thus create inconsistencies in their everyday actions.  Because of this culture, young adults in this environment are more prone to be involved in criminal activity or fall behind in cognitive development.  While much of our work involves enhancing the childhood of Bayview kids, the teenage experience requires an approach that acknowledges its different level of fragility. 

We embolden these young adults to stand in their own power.  

As they are often prompted to “live in the present,” and receive one-on-one support from Macio, the Ground Zero youth leave the course with more compassion, consistency, open-mindedness, confidence, and dependability.  Through Ground Zero, these individuals will learn to recognize that they have their own choices.   They learn how to think for themselves and question the culture of poverty and trauma that has accompanied them.  Empowered youth turn into empowered young adults.  We hope that this work eases the insecurity of a life lived in poverty, and offers direction towards a life without it.