Background
WHY DOES DAYTONA BEACH NEED AN ALL AGES SPACE?
“Volusia County: Problem behaviors in the under 18 demographic, such as delinquency, adolescent violence, suicidal behavior, and isolation consistently hover at a rate of elevated risk, an increase from previous years, and/or a higher average than that of the state. Nearly 40% of its youth between the ages of 10-18 report use of any illicit drug or alcohol in the past 30 days.”
Turning Point Youth Collective, Inc., is an effort in direct response to the increasing disparity between the local community and its teen-youth. According to the most recent Census, approximately 1 out of every 5 residents in Daytona Beach are between the ages of 13-25. However, their access to popular music is repeatedly denied (i.e. 18+, 21+ venues), and exacerbated by the weak youth-centered community infrastructure — which is predominantly claimed by tourism and retirement. Lacking an effective space to exert themselves creatively, and repeatedly denied a space to meet and express themselves, youth often become disengaged and disenfranchised.
Like house parties, bars, galleries, and cafes for adults, youth music spaces are the places for young people to be social and mix their personal growth within the cultural context they are most comfortable with. There is ample opportunity for youth to gain social awareness, interact with peers in a safe and drug & alcohol free space, and enjoy musical and artistic culture. Outside of these spaces, young people have few other venues to participate in music and art, develop leadership skills, and discover and define their cultural identity on their own terms.
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention describes three important factors in youth problem behavior prevention: (a) understanding factors that place youth at risk, (b) developing effective programs to overcome risk factors, and (c) enhancing the protective factors that promote resiliency. A 2008 report by One Voice for Volusia indicates primary risk factors for youth in our county are family management problems, friends who engage in the problem behavior, and lack of commitment to school. Secondary risk factors include, low neighborhood attachment, community disorganization, and alienation. Young people often positively and effectively deal with frustration, anger, sadness, and fear, through seeking a creative outlet and a sense of community.
Our programs provide open and safe, drug & alcohol free spaces for youth to assemble and share culture. Peer relationships are important sources of support for children and youth, and prosocial peers may provide protection from the risks that youth face. The Collective’s monthly series of youth-run concerts offer many opportunities for leadership-building skills and mentoring in areas such as event planning and management, public relations, marketing and design, recording, and networking. These same events also create a forum for youth songwriting, music performance, art production, and dance. Coping and stress reduction strategies such as writing, music, art, and dance are protective factors that foster resiliency by allowing an individual to creatively express inner turmoil and find some order amongst the confusion, or “Sturm und Drang” of adolescence.
Turning Point embodies characteristics such as contextual relevance, participatory project development, community mentors, and community service which work together to support youths’ psychosocial development. Our organization takes its cues directly from the youth and their needs and input–rather than imparting onto them a list of needs and inputs. We provide new and culturally specific opportunities for youth to participate-regardless of age, sex, sexual orientation, religion, race, economic status etc.
Currently, Turning Point Youth Collective is the only youth-run, community-based organization in Daytona Beach. Several community centers in the area exist, such as city centers and the YMCA, however they offer little or nothing at all in the areas of independent art and music production, as well as providing minimal leadership opportunities for youth. Furthermore, many of the youth centered programs which do exist, exist under a moniker of religion, a school-merited basis, or directly for “at-risk” youth. Through open governance practices and a medium of youth-culture, our organization reaches more young people than most youth organizations, including the ones that are hard to reach.