Lynn teens ‘Part of Solution’

LYNN – Girls Inc. used to be just for young girls.But now a group of Lynn teens, with both male and female members, is helping to make Lynn a safer place.A new program in its second year called Part of the Solution (POS) acts as a youth advisory council to Lynn’s Communities That Care coalition.POS is comprised of Lynn teens from varying backgrounds – some who have attended programs at Girl’s Inc. and some who haven’t – who work to promote awareness of social issues affecting kids today.”The topics we address range from promoting healthy teen relationships, awareness of drug and substance abuse, and discouraging gang violence,” said said LaTosha Duester, youth leadership advisor at Girls Inc.Although the group is only in its second year, it has been busy recruiting members from the community and getting teens involved in various programs in Lynn. At the group’s monthly meetings, anywhere from 10-35 teens turn out to help plan events.”We started with just Girls Inc. girls, but then the girls went into the schools to get boys to come, and got their friends involved. Any high schooler in Lynn can come,” Duester said. “Everything we do is youth-driven, and they come up with the ideas and plan everything, we just try to help them.”POS is currently working to assemble a team for the June Relay for Life, plan a park clean-up weekend and sponsor a co-ed basketball tournament. They are also heavily involved with the Harmony Among Lynn Teens (HALT) Conference, to be held for the 12th time this April.”We hold workshops before the dance covering different topics, and we try to get as many teens to come out for the workshops as possible,” Duester said. “It’s a great event and the teens love dances, so it’s a great way to get them involved in the community and let them have fun.”Recently, the group helped plan this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration, organized a dance in December aimed to keep kids off the streets on weekends and put over 1,000 stickers on alcoholic beverages at Lynn liquor stores to remind adults it is illegal to provide alcohol to minors.The group also helps out at My Brother’s Table and with other community events year-round, but Duester said the group sees an increase in numbers in the spring and summer months because the members enjoy planning outdoor events.”We also do workshops in the schools and talk to kids all over the district about programs we have,” Duester said. “But they love the outside events, the picnics and flag days and that stuff.”But while the cold weather and snow remains in Lynn, Duester and POS will keep busy planning future events and will start their fundraising for the Relay for Life, to be held June 4-5 at Red Rock Park.”Girls Inc. will have a team, and the whole idea is that as a team we are going to walk all night and raise money for cancer research,” Duester said.