The Zone: Mobile Spaces to Talk about Healthy Relationships

Access to free wifi

Social & emotional support

Public/open streets gatherings

Rates of volunteerism

Total number of local social media friends and connections Angelenos have

Break the Cycle (BTC) is moving outside of traditional school systems. BTC was fortunate enough to hear the needs of the young people of Los Angeles at a recent Los Angeles for Youth Rally. During the rally a young woman about 18 years old shared a story with the audience about her younger sister. She recalled that she was sharing a memory about how safe and engaged she felt attending their youth center. Her younger sister asked her, “What’s that?” She realized that her sister had no relationship with the center. Other young people talked about how their safe place was a liquor store around the corner until they got harassed by gang members or cops thinking they were gang member. Some sections of Los Angeles youth are provided with spaces that help them proactively contribute to the community while in others they are not. We specifically see this challenge in the City Terrace neighborhood of East Los Angeles. There is a huge opportunity to ignite a neighborhood of healthy relationships through a pilot called the Zone. Los Angeles’ young people need more info about healthy relationships and resources to take action, their families and adults need support to break down intergenerational forms of violence in communities.

This reinforced BTC’s desire to bring prevention education to young people in the spaces where they reside. BTC has been very successful in bringing dating violence prevention education to schools in Los Angeles. However, the space does not allow for completely open dialog and misses out of school youth. Unedited, frank conversations with young people is the key to creating enhanced peer prevention educational tools and awareness campaigns that reach spaces outside the school setting. BTC is particularly interested in the time just after the school day and before young people return home. For some young people that time can be extremely unpredictable. While only a few hours that time may include, walking to a store to get a snack. Stores may be bodegas, liquor stores, convenience stores or other shops that serve multiple purposes in the neighborhood. It may include a brisk walk through either official gang territory or unfriendly neighborhoods. For others it may be a direct route to a local neighborhood club. This time and space is a good time to reach youth through The Zone.

The Zone a mobile technology station would have TV monitors and tablets which would rotate media clips discussing various relationships. Youth would be encouraged to view the media, talk to peer educators, take a fun engagement tool, and sign up for the Let’s Be Real youth group for continued information. Collectively the station provides a place for people to gather in public and open street gatherings, would provide access to free Wi-Fi and through the participation of a peer to peer educator and volunteers would encourage volunteerism and a connection point for social and emotional support.

The benefit of this project for the entire community is threefold: Young people will have an opportunity to take REALationships to the streets...They can actively participate in the most current dating abuse campaign and work to mobilize and spread the word through their community. And they can connect for more enhanced dialogs through the Let’s Be Real high school chapters. Secondarily, families can use the information for youth organizations, local churches, community centers and schools. Collectively Los Angeles will Break the Cycle taking the new mobilized energy to work with community leaders to create additional permanent spaces where youth are empowered to take action and change their norms of relationships. The following metrics will be used to measure success:

* # of visits to the mobile technology hubs

* # of sign ups for Let’s Be Real

* # of sign ups for Love Is Not Abuse

* Time connected to Wi-Fi

* 75% of participants will identify healthy relationships behaviors

* 75% of care takers will feel comfortable speaking to their teens about healthy relationships

* 80% of young people will feel comfortable speaking to their friends about healthy relationships

* 5 community partners will be engaged to take action and prevent dating abuse (host a mobile technology hub, host a Let’s Be Real or Love Is Not Abuse chapter)

* 2 stores will be engaged to take action and prevent dating abuse (host a mobile technology hub, host a chapter)

Money

Volunteers

Publicity/awareness

Infrastructure (building/space/vehicles etc.)

Community outreach

Network/relationship support