Voices From the Field: Getting to the Heart of Youth Transformation: Elevating Youth Voices

• NCJ Number: 308918
• Date Published: February 2024
• Agencies: OJJDP-Sponsored

Annotation

This episode features Marcel Martin, from the Center of Hope, and the coordination of the center’s Kuji Youth Radio initiative, which is a prevention and intervention program that uses podcasting as a strategy for reaching out and providing opportunities to youth exposed to gang violence.

Abstract

This episode provides practical guidance for helping youth find and shape their voices through podcasting, from Marcel Martin, an intervention specialist with Center of Hope in Baltimore, Maryland, who also coordinates the National Gang Center’s Kuji Youth Radio initiative. Kuji Youth Radio is a prevention and intervention program that uses podcasting as an outreach strategy, and for providing opportunities to middle- and high-school aged youth exposed to gang violence to tell their stories. This episode is geared toward people working in intervention and focuses on elevating youth voices. Mr. Martin discusses how and why he works with youth to speak about their experiences; he also discusses how his passion for music and the arts has intersected with his intervention work, and the challenges of recruitment of youth to participate, emphasizing the importance of community partnerships.