YCteen publishes true stories by teens, giving readers insight into the issues that matter most in young people's lives.
| What's New |
|---|
 Youth Communication seeks YCteen editor/program manager
 YCteen writer wins at 2013 Ippies Awards
 New books by Youth Communication published by Free Spirit
|
STORE
SUBSCRIBE
|
LESSON PLANS
FROM THE AUTHOR |
|---|
|
Behind the Scenes: Teen writers describe what it's like to work at YCteen.
|
| WATCH MORE VIDEOS |
|---|
New York City (53 found)
Note: These stories are from YCteen and its sister publication, Represent, which is written by and for youth in foster care.
Men are constantly commenting on Margaret's appearance as she walks down the street. She reports on how widespread—and how damaging to girls—street harassment is and describes how some women are fighting back. (full text)
Elisabet thinks an ad campaign to combat teen pregnancy perpetuates negative stereotypes. (full text)
Linda questions whether the New York City Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy does more harm than good. (full text)
Jennifer comes to the aid of a friend who lost her home after Hurricane Sandy. She is struck by the outpouring of generosity she observes in the storm’s aftermath, and wonders whether it will last. (full text)
Alice, whose father Dan Cantor is executive director of the Working Families Party, describes what it's like to grow up in a political family. (full text)
This teen-friendly guide to the Occupy Wall Street movement—with accompanying videos—explains the financial inequality that activists are protesting. (full text)
This teen-friendly guide to the Occupy Wall Street movement—with accompanying videos—explains the financial inequality that activists are protesting. (full text)
A million more trees in New York City mean cleaner air, lower electricity bills, and happier, healthier residents. (full text)
You can't swim or fish in Brooklyn's polluted canal, but the EPA and a handful of concerned citizens are working hard to clean it up. (full text)
Many New York City high school grads need extra help before they're ready for college classes. This can hurt their chances of ever earning a degree from CUNY or other colleges. (full text)
Anthony only has a few weeks to find a new high school, and the choices are overwhelming. He explains how he got through it and what he learned. (full text)
When Antwaun returns to Harlem after living in a safer, more middle class neighborhood in Queens, he realizes how far he's traveled from his roots. (full text)
When Fan Yi enters a prestigious high school, she’s astounded to find widespread cheating. (full text)
Some New York City schools find ways to force low-performing students out, a widespread and illegal practice to improve test scores and graduation rates by any means possible.
About 40% of New York City teens missed at least a month of school in 2008-2009. Shahlo explores why the absence rate is so high.
Marco feels cheated out of a better education. He was less prepared than other students for the specialized high school admissions test because he didn't know about it, and ends up in a mediocre school.
New York City offers several different paths toward graduation. Here we explain some of them, including alternative schools and programs for pregnant teens.
To avoid getting duped when choosing a New York City public school, prospective students should look at a school's attendance, graduation rates, and other key statistics.
Conor moves from the Deep South to downtown Manhattan—and discovers that he's been a closeted New Yorker all along.
Brief comments from Queens teens on what it's like to live in America's most diverse county.
Nesshell admires the Anti-Defamation League's message of tolerance. But in attempting to spread this message, she learns that she won't always meet with like-minded people.
Describes a recent wave of attacks on Latin Americans in Staten Island, the community's response, and the definition of a hate crime.
According to police records, the NYPD stopped 508,540 pedestrians in 2006 for questioning or frisking. The vast majority of those stopped were black or Latino, and 90% weren’t found to be doing anything wrong. Sidebar to previous article.
Getting stopped by the police is common in minority neighborhoods, but when 50 kids get arrested in Bushwick, Brooklyn just for walking down the street, they decide to take action. Helped by an activist curriculum at their alternative school, they successfully sue the police.
When Catherine visits the Bronx Residential Center, a juvenile detention facility, the building doesn’t feel like a place to punish people. The Center takes a nurturing approach, matching troubled boys with mental health professionals help them work through their traumas.
In 1998, the police department took over school safety in New York City schools from Dept. of Education staff. Some like the idea, but others feel it creates a prison atmosphere that violates student rights. One critic, the NYCLU, is suing the city to change the policy and remove police from the schools.
Desiree works as an unpaid summer intern for New York City Councilwoman Gale Brewer. The experience changes Desiree’s view of politicians, who she assumes are cynical and self-centered people. She finds Brewer to be an honest, hardworking person who fights for her constituents.
While it has its problems, April would raise her children in Brownsville, Brooklyn. It's not wealthy, but neither is it "ghetto."
Farmer's markets in New York City bring fresh produce from the farm to urban dwellers.
Community supported agriculture (CSA) brings quality fruits and vegetables to the city.
UPROSE (United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park) organizes youth to fight for social and environmental justice. Youth are trying to prevent construction of a polluting power plant and are pushing for a new park where there's now a garbage-strewn lot.
Open Road of New York, a nonprofit group, organizes young people to work on environmental improvement projects in the city, such as creating new parks and improving existing ones.
Confined to a wheelchair, Tania has to fight harder than most teens for her independence.
Bushwick, Brooklyn, has a reputation for drugs, violence, and crime. Cheryl, armed with census statistics, uncovers the root cause of the problem: most of the residents are poorly-educated and have limited English proficiency, leading to high unemployment and poverty.
The youth group Make the Road by Walking has lobbied city council representatives to fund a program for homeless teens and a performing arts center for young people.
At the activist organization Fresh Youth Initiatives (FYI) in the Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights, young people help improve conditions by cleaning parks, painting murals, tutoring younger kids, working in a food bank, and doing other community service projects.
When Dean visits a suburban high school he is shocked to discover clean and quiet classrooms, and a lot of learning going on.
Xiao Ling feels at home in Chinatown, but worries that living there prevents her from fully integrating into American life.
Damien, a bike messenger in New York, compares riding well on its maniacal streets to what artists call "flow" or athletes call the "zone"—a mystical process demanding the discipline and determination to make split second decisions that hold one's life in the balance.
Priscilla learns about Chinese-American history at a special museum.
Renu interviews four teens who have become environmental activists, fighting litter, air pollution, lead poisoning, and other problems in their neighborhoods.
Jia Lu takes a walking tour of Manhattan's Lower East Side to learn the rich immigrant history of the neighborhood. The sweatshops are still there, but now the Chinese have replaced the Italians, Irish, and Jews in the latest cycle of exploitation and poverty.
Jeanette lives in East Harlem, a neighborhood plagued by crack and violence. Most of the girls she played tag with are now mothers and a drug-dealing friend was beaten to death, but Jeanette also knows a lot of good, hardworking people who are as ambitious as she is.
Coney Island, Sheila's neighborhood, is a barren place of housing projects and empty lots, but what makes it different from other "bad" neighborhoods are the beach, boardwalk, and amusement park rides.
The two groups that provide attorneys to foster youth in New York City sued the city over the number of youth aging out into homelessness. The case was settled out of court. (full text)
Homelessness in New York City is up. We explore causes for this: high unemployment rates; high rents; low minimum wage; and income inequality. (full text)
Otis is shocked by the reality of the adult shelter system—constant smoking, drugs, alcohol, fighting, no privacy, and little possibility of sleep. (full text)
A city administrator, a case manager at a homeless drop-in shelter, and a homeless 19-year-old explain how the shelter system works. (full text)
Lavell shares her experience of applying for, then choosing between low-income public housing and supportive housing for mentally ill New Yorkers. (full text)
The writer's younger brother dresses and talks like a gang member. Since they live in a gang-infested neighborhood, the writer worries that his brother is in danger, and he interviews a police officer about it. (full text)
Destiny takes photos, writes, and wants to build a life as an artist. She describes her strategies for staying creative while also earning money. (full text)
Shateek writes about a visit to East New York Farms! in Brooklyn, a half-acre organic farm that's staffed by teen interns. (full text)
Project Ready is an alternative-to-detention program in New York City that includes an after-school program and a community monitoring program. Interviews with kids there and lower re-arrest figures suggest that it's working. (full text)
| For Teens |
|---|
| Writing Contest Teens: Write For Us |
| STORE | SUBSCRIBE | ABOUT US | CONTACT US | PERMISSIONS | PRIVACY |
| Copyright © 2013 - Youth Communication - 224 W. 29th St. - New York, NY 10001 - Ph: 212-279-0708 - FAX: 212-279-8856 |