Troubled Teens Get Positive Start Through "Divine" Intervention

Troubled Teens Get Positive Start Through "Divine" Intervention

Youths from the Art Start Hip Hop Project

By M. Frith

Anyone who knows anything about what is going on in the lives of children knows that between the hours after school lets out and when parents arrive home, kids, in particular teenagers, can get into a world of trouble. Dubbed by media and youth outreach programs as a "Prime Time for Juvenile Crime", how these hours are spent may determine whether a teen will end up pregnant, on drugs, or in jail.

Many people understand the need for effective after-school programs to combat the pull of what the streets have to offer, but not as many do something about it. Certainly, no one expects a teenager to tackle the problem. But Canarsien Divine Bradley, born Andy Bradley, has done just that. With a style that’s a mixture of Soho artist and Hip Hop rap star, it would be easy to dismiss Bradley as an average urban eighteen-year-old.

But, if you did assume that he is just your average kid, you’d be wrong.

Seeing groups of idle kids on the street after school, Bradley wanted to do something to keep these kids from loitering and worse, using their free time and boundless energy for activities that would make them another statistic in the "Prime Time for Juvenile Crime" scenario. He knows, first hand, how easy it is to get into trouble. He’s written ironically of himself, in reference to his early teens: "I ran with the wrong crowds and some of the wrong crowds ran with me."

In the fall of 2000, influenced by his recruitment into a non-profit organization, ART START, Bradley came up with a way to provide recreation and leadership for the teens he saw out on the street, his own non-profit, Team Revolution. Began in 1991, ART START, a much heralded Manhattan-based organization at 285 W. Broadway, uses arts education rooted programs to help "at-risk" youths attain their career goals and at the same time give back to their communities. As part of one of ART START’s programs, Hip Hop Project, Bradley experienced first-hand the benefits of this sort of youth intervention program.

With ART START as a model, Bradley set about organizing a staff, a work space, and recruitment for an urban entertainment-based organization promoting volunteerism that would be appealing to teens. Within months, Bradley’s determination led him to Youth Venture at 75 Maiden Lane in Manhattan. It is also a non-profit organization that is a resource for young people who want to be leaders. Tamara Weiss of Youth Venture calls Bradley, "one of the most motivated, responsible individuals I’ve ever met." Youth Venture was so impressed, they provided Team Revolution with seed money.

The seed money helped Bradley, along with Co-Vice Presidents, Deandra Henderson, Jamaal Orr, and Fernando Rosado (all of whom are under 22), hold their first meeting on November 1, 2000 at the Canarsie Library at 1580 Rockaway Parkway.

There are currently 10-16 teenagers in the program ranging from 13 to 18 years old. They meet every Tuesday and Thursday. In addition, they have the workshops on Saturdays and Sundays called Hip Hopology where the talented kids create their own songs, choreography and discuss current musical trends. They also take the teenagers on outings that Bradley says, "aren’t the typical go play basketball type things…(it’s also) a stress relief program. I take them to the spa. They do yoga and meditation." He and his Co. V.P.’s took the kids to the Brooklyn Museum Hip Hop exhibit. Most recently, they went to see Michael Jackson at Carnegie Hall. They also had a Black History month showcase on February 17th at the Park Shore Nursing Home.

On the other hand, in spite of the seed money and promising start, Team Revolution is still very much in its beginning stages and, like all newly formed organizations, in need of community participation. The immediate problem facing Team Revolution is a need for larger accommodations. The plan is for the teens in the Hip Hopology program to do more showcases, but rehearsal space is key and the library isn’t the ideal place for hard-pumping music and innovative, choreographed dancing. There is also the long term goal for what Bradley feels will truly inspire and serve the youth in our community, a recreational center. Team Revolution has christened this objective "Project F.O.C.U.S (Freeing Our Community Using Skills).

It’s an enormous goal for Bradley and his young Team Revolution partners. Then again one only has to hear Chris Rolle, director of ART START’s Hip Hop project, speak of Bradley to know that goals set for Team Revolution would be anything but average. Rolle said of Bradley, "He does not want a hand out. Teach him how to do it, anything, and he’ll do it himself and that’s the mark of a great man." It’s a good thing, because it’ll take a lot of extraordinary people to make sure our teens don’t fail, but succeed.