RISING UP FOR TEENS' HEALTH NEEDS

THREE YEARS AGO, a series of violent incidents rocked East Oakland's Castlemont High. In the aftermath, neighborhood teens gathered to figure out why. Young people pointed to inadequate educational resources, insufficient employment opportunities, limited health resources and a lack of "things to do." The young people came up with their mission: "a youth empowerment center that supports youth leadership in transforming their lives and communities through full integration of health, culture, safety, employment and arts programming." In response, Alameda County, with the guidance of county social worker Olis Simmons, helped pull together the alliances and resources needed to fulfill the young people's mission and start Youth UpRising.

In early 2005, in a once abandoned supermarket adjacent to the troubled high school, the teens and their sponsors unveiled a gleaming 25,000-square-foot center that includes performance stages, video production space, music and dance studios, classrooms, a computer lab and a youth-run cyber café that offers healthy, reasonably priced food. A health clinic run by Children's Hospital Oakland provides free mental health and primary care to the teens, five days a week, all day long.

HOW IT WORKS
The groundbreaking concept is unique and deceptively simple. Young people are attracted to the center's arts and culture offerings, such as hip-hop classes and music production, because they are relevant to their own interests. Once inside they can avail themselves of the career and entrepreneurial training, educational support, and health and wellness services that are part of a comprehensive approach to supporting youth empowerment.

"The services are linked. If a troubled young person isn't ready to go directly to a therapist, they might be ready to begin the process through a spoken word performance or a video. Our team is trained to recognize the signs that someone might need additional help," says Omana Imani, coordinator of Youth UpRising's RiseUp program.

In July 2004, The California Endowment funded RiseUp's health center, supporting a team of 12 young people (ages 13 to 24) who are peer counselors and leaders, along with two nonclinical case managers. The group is charged with getting teens in the door, convincing them to invest in the center's success, and helping them get their health care needs met. Available services include the health clinic and wellness programs, such as immensely popular massage and chiropractic sessions offered by the UPAYA Center for Wellbeing.

EXPANDING ACCESS
RiseUp team members go door-to-door handing out flyers and introducing themselves and the program. They also provide the orientation for teens who want to join the center. RiseUp's goal is to reach 4,000 youth in three years and encourage 1,500 to undergo the orientation and join. (There's no fee, but all teens have to commit to abiding by the center's zero-tolerance approach to drugs, alcohol and violence.) In its first three months, the group already has more than 700 members.

"The health center is one of the best programs we have here," says RiseUp member Brian Hutton, 17. Tall and soft-spoken, Hutton was a member of the group that planned Youth UpRising and credits his involvement in the project with giving his own life new direction. "It's part of what makes us different. If you're a teen mother, you're still a teen and there's a place for you here. This whole program is one of the best things to come out of Oakland in a long time."