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Worcester eyes empowering Youth Council leaders with paid positions

Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

For the last six years, 19 young people have had regular meetings to discuss issues facing Worcester youth. The members of this Youth Council, formed in 2015, are traditionally between the ages of 13 and 19. These are years filled with plenty to worry about as it is, even for those not serving as the official voice of youth in matters of city government, so the level of commitment displayed by these teens is impressive.

This year, the city’s Division of Youth Opportunities is taking the YC’s connection to city government a step further, creating five paid positions of Youth Council Leaders, with each representing a district of Worcester. These leaders will spearhead the YC’s initiatives, meeting more often between the regular monthly meetings and connecting with other city officials.

“We thought it’s time to pay our young people for the work that they do,” explained Jacob Folson-Fraster, assistant program coordinator for Recreation Worcester. The funding for the positions comes from the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, specifically the Youth for Community Improvement Grant. “The goal of Youth Council has always been to create a process that is youth led,” he said. Adult allies such as Folsom-Fraster and his colleagues will act as liaisons to other city departments, but the aim is for the YC to set its own course.

The goal of the positions is to better empower the YC, said community engagement specialist Franklin Franco, “and make it more self-sustaining with additional structural changes.” Each of the YC leaders will have two other youths working with them, one of whom will take over as YC leader when the current one ages out, creating a pipeline of ready candidates already familiar with the goals of the present council.

With salaried positions, Worcester youth have true representation in city government, as the YC leaders will be able to speak to other departments as fellow city employees. As for what they will use this new status for, Franco is hesitant to make a statement. “That’s the beauty of it, we aren’t youth anymore so we don’t know their issues, but they will decide what they do,” he said. In prior years, the YC has pursued initiatives dealing with youth homelessness, or setting aside art spaces.

The YC leaders will not be without guidance, with FolsonFraster and Franco taking on a similar advisory role as with the wider YC. “We’ll discuss what the various pathways are to creating change,” said Folson-Fraster. “We will have structured ways in which they will be engaging their peers and collecting data on the biggest issues of what young people are facing.” Armed with this information, the group will be able to bring relevant issues before policy-makers, with a direct line to City Hall and the City Council.

While interviews have not started yet, the division of Youth Opportunities has a large candidate pool, drawing from public schools and city youth programs. While the term “youth” for the purposes of YC is considered under 24, ideal candidates will be in junior or senior year of high school. Interviews will be conducted individually but there will also be a group interview, said Franco, since the candidates will be working together closely, “to see how they react to each other.”

“We definitely want someone very committed to social change,” said Samara Fernandes, Youth Council chief of staff and senior at North High, since those who fill the position will be serving as an example to others their age. “A lot of time they feel ‘I’m young so there’s not much I can do’ but representation is very important to show them that they can,” she said.

As the name, Youth Council Leader, suggests, leadership qualities are important, but Folson-Fraster admits that can come in different shapes and forms. While being passionate about making connections in their community and bringing

Samara Fernandes, Youth Council chief of staff and senior at North High

SUBMITTED PHOTO Community engagement specialist Franklin Franco

SUBMITTED PHOTO Jacob Folson-Fraster, assistant program coordinator for Recreation Worcester

SUBMITTED PHOTO A flyer from Facebook calling for candidates for Youth Council leaders

DIVISION OF YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES

WARL works hard to keep pets living happily with families in the pandemic

Veer Mudambi

Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

For Kristin Mullins of Worcester Animal Rescue League, few situations are as heartbreaking as the case of a family who had to give up their new kitten. Their pet required emergency surgery beyond the family’s financial means, and they surrendered the kitten to WARL, lacking any other options. Mullins and her team decided to give them some.

Humane societies and rescue leagues have long been in the business of helping animals find homes. Because of the impact of COVID, though, they are now in the business of helping animals keep their homes as well.

Making sure people keep their pets “is the ultimate goal,” said Mullins. “We would rather keep the family intact as long as the animal is safe and healthy.” Since they could not medically treat an animal they didn't own, WARL accepted the surrender. After surgery, however, the family was invited to re-adopt their kitten.

In August 2020, the ASPCA released data estimating that 4.2 million pets would enter poverty along with their humans as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. They indicated that the total number of animals living in poverty could rise to more than 24.4 million dogs, cats, horses and other animals.

As predicted, Mullins witnessed the rate of surrenders begin to rise last fall, and stayed consistently high. People who have lost jobs and homes and have senior pets with medical issues find it very hard to care for the extra mouths to feed. In some heartbreaking cases, people have taken money out of their own retirement savings to look after their animal companions. To combat this, WARL has been providing needed resources for neighbors in crisis and preventing four-footed companions from being relinquished to shelters as their humans recover from the fallout of the pandemic.

The most common refrain heard at WARL is medical concerns that owners cannot afford to address — even relatively manageable ones like diabetes. Any animal, no matter how hale and hearty, comes with associated financial costs of supplies, food and veterinary care. These only escalate with age and depending on what health issues arise, costs can quickly balloon to unmanageable levels. Housing issues are the second most common reason that people surrender dogs and cats to shelters. When they have to suddenly move to smaller places with dog restrictions, or move in with family where there may not be room, they can face incredibly hard decisions.

WARL does not often see surrenders of young animals, Mullins said, with most being middle-aged to senior pets. Most of the cats, for example, over the last several months have been over 10 to 12 years of age, with dogs in the older range as well. “Animals are living longer because of the great care they receive,” said Mullins, both at home and at the vet’s office, “but just like humans, as you get older you get more medical issues.” This in turn leads to higher veterinary costs.

“The animals that are being turned in to us by owners need significant medical intervention,” said Mullins. This can range from heart surgery to chemotherapy and everywhere in between. The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University has “been very gracious” and provided treatment but WARL’s costs have predictably gone up. However, just because a family cannot afford a particular treatment that doesn’t always have to mean goodbye.

Sunshine goes for a walk at the Worcester Animal Rescue League, accompanied

by technician Tara Burdette. PHOTOS BY ASHLEY GREEN/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Worcester Animal Rescue League technician Tara Burdette holds Sunshine, who is currently up for adoption.

Pets

Continued from Page 5D

Mullins stressed that every situation is unique, but when possible, they always prefer to reunite pets and families separated by the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic.

To that end, prevention is often the best medicine and goes a long way to maintaining the family-companion animal bond. Keeping pets healthy and cared for on a regular basis comes with its own price tag which is consistent regardless of age, unlike vet bills. In response, WARL and other shelters quickly created pet food pantries at the beginning of the pandemic, providing food at local human food pantries for families in need, to take home.

The goal of a food pantry is to help people in need feed their families, and while that usually means humans, it certainly includes pets. Requests from food pantries for pet food have gone up as much as 75%, according to Second Chance Animal Services, a group that provides similar aid. “If there isn’t pet food available,” said Wendy Hall, animal relocation director at Second Chance, “people will forgo food like tuna and give it to their pets.”

In addition to food pantries, WARL also works with social service agencies such as New Hope, a veterans organization. “Many of these people are already working with social service agencies so we offer those agencies food to give them rather than having them jump through hoops,” explained Mullins. It eliminates the need for people to make more stops to collect pet food, reducing the amount of gas needed.

Thanks to an outpouring of community support, said Mullins, WARL has a surplus of food that can be donated to community partners such as New Hope. “We never let a bag go to waste.” Food donations have a ripple effect beyond simply feeding shelter animals. The money the organization saves on pet food can instead go toward medical expenses for the care of the animals. However, if someone wants to help in a more direct fashion, they can donate to WARL’s emergency care fund, where the money is set aside solely for veterinary services.

In addition to food, other preferred donations include basics such as collars, leashes, crates and, most importantly, cat litter. Due to the number of cats at the shelter, they rapidly burn through litter, placing it permanently near the top of the list, especially in spring and fall, dubbed “kitten season.”

While the name “kitten season” may sound cute, it signals a time of intense work at WARL. It comes about like clockwork when the weather turns springlike and the temperatures first begin to warm up — owners let their cats out for the first time after winter and lo and behold, they have kittens in about 58 to 68 days. Unfortunately, most families cannot afford to keep the unexpected additions to their families. “We prepare for hundreds and hundreds of kittens,” said Mullins, “A baby shower on a massive scale — food, toys, litter and treats are all needed.”

Another seasonal trend the shelter is bracing for is Easter, and with it, a spike in rabbit surrenders in the weeks following the holiday. These animals are often gifted to young children, and families quickly tire of them after learning how much care they require. “They can make wonderful pets but are not meant to be part of someone’s Easter basket,” Mullins warned.

While a rise in surrenders is never a good thing, there is one aspect of the situation that Mullins finds hopeful. Few surrenders, if any, have been pets rehomed during the adoption blitz at the beginning of the crisis. “We have not seen those pets returned,” observed Mullins, “and we’re very pleased to see those results.” At the very beginning of COVID, one of their chief concerns was that people were rescuing animals with only their current shutdown circumstances in mind — not considering how the animal would fit into their normal lifestyles. In response WARL updated their screening questions to ensure that potential adopters factored in the eventual return to normalcy.

Worcester Animal Rescue League technician Tara Burdette holds Sunshine, who is currently up for

adoption, on March 25. ASHLEY GREEN/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Council

Continued from Page 4D

people together is a must, “that doesn’t mean just the very outward, extroverted folks,” he said. “We know there is important work that happens behind the scenes.”

Franco agreed, saying that leadership potential was the most important thing, as the position could help build those skills, which can only help in the current political and social climate. While he and his colleagues have been on the lookout for creating new leadership opportunities for young people, this generation is coming of age in unprecedented times, with too few spaces to work through it. “There’s a sense of urgency to create these spaces to share what they’re going through,” said Franco.

“We have all of these hopes for what they will learn from the program,” said FolsonFraster, “but we know that can only be successful if we create a space where young people feel heard and seen.” A particularly difficult goal, considering the degree of isolation young people are currently experiencing. “That part feels extra important right now.”

Though the vaccine is rolling out, many are still confined at home or limited to a small number of people. A strengthened YC, said Fernandes, could focus its efforts on helping young people who are facing problems at home. “This gives them a way to build a safer environment.”

The overall goal of the Leader positions is to strengthen, empower and inspire the YC while taking the diverse group’s work to the next level in making a positive impact. The Worcester Youth Council meets every Wednesday from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

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