The Bronx Defenders : Community Outreach : Bronx PRYDE

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Bronx PrYde
Promoting Revolutionary Youth Development & Education

Bronx PrYde is a youth-focused, youth-directed, youth-led project committed to helping young people develop into community leaders. When young men and women aged 14-19 come to Bronx PrYde, they bring tremendous energy, strong opinions, and a desire to be part of something larger than themselves. They look for a safe space and a place to express themselves freely. Bronx PrYde uses the time, vigor, and aspirations of the youth as catalysts for personal and community transformation.

Through small group discussions of difficult yet crucial topics including experiences with racial discrimination, police brutality in their communities, homophobia in their families, and oppressive government (in)action, Bronx PrYde challenges young people to examine their environment, critically analyze it, and offer constructive solutions that may improve their lives and the lives of their peers. Even as it challenges young people to examine their communities, Bronx PrYde encourages them to turn the same analytical eye inward. Through a program called “Inner Freedom,” engaged, community-oriented social workers lead young people toward self-reflection and self-exploration.

At Bronx PrYde, young people develop the skills integral to great leadership including public speaking, curriculum development, and effective communication. Most impressive and encouraging is the development of these young men and women into more self-confident, tolerant, and creative advocates for themselves, their peers, and the causes of their choosing. As they work with our youth leaders and program staff, these young people develop a stronger sense of self, connect with other youth from diverse backgrounds and experiences, and join a new family that is invested in empowering their neighborhood and other youth like them.

Bronx PrYde meets teenagers "where they are" and helps them to chart their own growth through community empowerment and civic engagement. Some of our young people continue to be invested in community improvement, regularly organizing youth through workshops and other community projects. Others have taken the lessons of Bronx PrYde and gone on to acquire full-time employment and continue their education. Ultimately, all of our young people leave more empowered to reach their goals.

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