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City Tech Hosts Conference on Youth Violence
From left: conference co-chair and Brooklyn Borough President Special Assistant Valerie Forbes, City Tech President Fred W. Beaufait, City Tech Dean Victor Ayala (fourth from left), Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes (center), Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham (second from right), Borough President Markowitz (far right) and several other "Silence the Violence" participants.
Five hundred young people, parents, educators, social workers, and faith-based and corporate leaders came to City Tech on May 10 to participate in "Silence the Violence," a conference sponsored by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz that addressed the problem of youth-on-youth violence in Brooklyn.
The keynote speaker was Richard "PeeWee" Kirkland, a nationally acclaimed motivational speaker and founder and CEO of the School of Skilz, a youth organization sponsored by Governor George Pataki and Nike. The conference included a panel discussion and workshop presentations featuring professional and youth speakers from various fields -- law, media, medicine, social work and education. Among topics of discussion were drug activity/lifestyle, gender identity and bias, gang intervention for youth, choosing to lose...life inside, and best practices for parents and educators.
In particular, the conference provided a forum where youth and parents were able to learn from others who had chosen positive alternatives to violence and become better acquainted with the resources that are available to them.
"If you respect yourself, I know you will respect others and never resort to violence. Brooklyn can and should set an example for the rest of the world to follow. Violence never pays, and it can cost you everything," Borough President Markowitz said. "To avoid becoming part of the cycle of violence, it is crucial to understand emotions, especially anger, and to learn communication skills that help us express anger and other difficult emotions without resorting to violence."
"Silence the Violence" was coordinated by Borough President Markowitz and the Brooklyn Youth Violence Prevention Coalition (BYVPC), which includes the Kings County District Attorney's Office, the NY State Department of Correctional Services, State Senator Carl Andrews, State Assemblyman Clarence Norman, the NYC Department of Education, the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development, City Tech, Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus, Agenda for Children Tomorrow, NYC Administration for Children's Services and other key Brooklyn community-based organizations and corporations. The conference was co-chaired by Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham and Valerie Forbes, Esq.
Photo credit: Kathryn Kirk
