by Jasmeen Kelley
This past month I went to two BOM outreach events. The first event was "This is How We Do It" at the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC) building. The event was a “Stop the Violence in Oakland Conference” thrown by a teenaged girl named Taylor. Shoot out to Taylor!!!! The conference was so amazing!!! It really opened my eyes to all the drama and senseless violence that actually goes on in these Oakland streets. I mean I knew that the violence was bad but, what I never thought about was the effects the violence has not only on those directly involved but, on those who were indirectly involved. For example, the families, the doctors, the communities are all effect by the cycle of violence. The families are mad at the culprit that shot their loved one, the doctors become empathic to the patients each one being worse yet better than the last and the communities are not fully functioning communities because the kids cannot play on the streets because some areas are too “hot” to play in. The guest speakers ranged from Oakland police officers, Oakland city district attorneys, and many different non-profit originations such as Youth Radio’s Boss of Me (BOM), Youth Alive, H.E.A.T Program, etc. The cycle of violence is not only happening in Oakland but all over the Bay Area, all over California, all over the nation, all over the world!!!! BOM was there to just advocate for healthier relationships and all. You know how we do it at BOM!!! Be the boss of yourself and let no one tell you no different.
This past month I went to two BOM outreach events. The first event was "This is How We Do It" at the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC) building. The event was a “Stop the Violence in Oakland Conference” thrown by a teenaged girl named Taylor. Shoot out to Taylor!!!! The conference was so amazing!!! It really opened my eyes to all the drama and senseless violence that actually goes on in these Oakland streets. I mean I knew that the violence was bad but, what I never thought about was the effects the violence has not only on those directly involved but, on those who were indirectly involved. For example, the families, the doctors, the communities are all effect by the cycle of violence. The families are mad at the culprit that shot their loved one, the doctors become empathic to the patients each one being worse yet better than the last and the communities are not fully functioning communities because the kids cannot play on the streets because some areas are too “hot” to play in. The guest speakers ranged from Oakland police officers, Oakland city district attorneys, and many different non-profit originations such as Youth Radio’s Boss of Me (BOM), Youth Alive, H.E.A.T Program, etc. The cycle of violence is not only happening in Oakland but all over the Bay Area, all over California, all over the nation, all over the world!!!! BOM was there to just advocate for healthier relationships and all. You know how we do it at BOM!!! Be the boss of yourself and let no one tell you no different.
The second event was "Oakland for Peace" at the First Congregational Church of Oakland. I’m not going to lie this event was boring in the beginning and towards the middle and didn't liven up until the end. The event consisted of older people talking about younger people at an event that was supposed to be for young people. It would have been way better if there was more youth but, considering the fact that it was raining makes it understandable. The cause was really heart felt and everyone that was there (adults) was truly engaged in the matter at hand. It started to be more interesting once the discussion was over and the vending and tabling started. There were about 13 to 15 different tables with some really good causes. I can't recall any of the organization names at this time but, I can tell you some of the different causes they all were supporting. So there was some people advocating help in school, being an active member of "Love", playing and participating in physical activities and teen violence awareness. My favorite part was the henna tattoos!!! That was so cool. The tattoo was a flower on my wrist and it stayed on for an entire week. All in all, I has a good, education filled time at both events.
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