Capeless Honors Youth Advisory Board In Pittsfield
 Capeless said despite budget cuts he will fight to keep the program going. |
Two students from nearly every high school in the county formed the third Youth Advisory Board and spent the school year organizing a full-day conference to help middle school students deal with imminent issues such as cyberbullying and drugs.
"There are always people talking to kids but not really connecting," Taconic High School student Glen Bona said at the recognition ceremony. "[The program] is not talking at them, it's talking with them."
The conference — titled "Students Teaching Respect, Integrity, Values and Equality" — brought some 160 eighth-graders to the Crowne Plaza where they participated in games, listened to speakers and interacted with peers. Those students will then take the lessons they learned back to their schools.
The students received certificates for their effort Friday but Capeless said he hopes it is a lot more than just a line on a resume. Thier efforts has been a big benefit for the community.
"We have focused primarily on young people and prevention," Capeless said of the program. "As adults we are not sure how to reach them. We needed young people themselves to be part of our program to teach us that voice."
Capeless said the benefits goes two ways. The students learn how to be leaders and have long-standing memories but the adults also learn about the concerns of young people and how to address them.
The program breeds a relationship between the youth and the district attorney's office to help stop crime before it starts, Capeless said.
"We got that voice, we got the input but we got more than that," Capeless said. "They have spoken out as mentors to their friends and their peers."
Dasha Matkovska, also of Taconic High School, said the program exceeded her expectations and she is excited to return to the board next year.
"I didn't think we would put on a large conference," Matkovska said. "I'm hoping we can do another one next year."
The board just completed its third year and the projects have grown considerably. Last year, the group filmed a public service announcement to be shown on Pittsfield Community Television. This year, organizers let the students take it further.
"We've learned to give them more opportunity to take on bigger projects," Capeless said. "After seeing the enthusiasm and taking with them ... I am very much committed to see it continue."
 The students were given certificates of recognition and parting gifts for their efforts in organizing the daylong STRIVE conference. |
This year, most of the funding came from grants from the state Internet Crimes Against Children task force. Those grants are now expired and the office must go back to the starting point to find funding.
Capeless honored state police Sgt. Steven Del Negro with a plaque for his efforts to reel in the grant funding. Del Negro has helped the office is numerous ways and will be retiring.
"Steve believes the work and ideas you have are on the cutting edge here," Trooper Kevin Hart said while accepting the plaque on Del Negro's behalf, who was at a training seminar.
Carol Mulcahy, director of community outreach and education, said she is confident that the program will go on because of the benefits it has reaped. The task force uses the county as a model for prevention, she said.
"I was worried that we had bitten off more than we can chew," Mulcahy said of the conference. "On game day you were ready and you did a great job."
The key to the conference was the relationships the students made with each other, said Marcus Chiaretto, who was in his second year of the board.
"From our first meeting in September, everybody felt comfortable," Chiaretto said. "As time went on things really started pulling together quickly."
Teachers or school administration nominate students for the program and those students then spend one day a month meeting as part of the board. However, students put in much more of their own free time in order to make the project happen, Capeless said.
The board is ideally comprised of a students from the previous year's board and a new student from each school.
