Too cool for school

A collaborative effort between two local advocacy groups has led to the opening of a new teen center in Carrboro.

Youth Creating Change, founded and directed by Maxecine Mitchell, and Pa’lante, founded and directed by Laura Wenzel, have come together at 110 W. Main St. to share their programming for teenagers.

The new center opened Jan. 1 in the former space of Glenn’s Tattoo Service.

With the help of Hispanic teenagers, Pa’lante seeks to integrate the immigrant community with the established community.

In addition to publishing a quarterly Spanish-language magazine, Pa’lante also holds art and literacy classes and goes on tours of businesses and universities.

Youth Creating Change is focused on teaching leadership and entrepreneurial skills to black teenagers. The youths learn about business and investment by running their own store. The teens also participate in educational and career planning.

But both directors thought that they could more effectively foster acceptance of minorities by combining resources.

“We are collaborating in order to have strength in numbers and to provide more services to the children,” Wenzel said.

The union comes at a time when there has been much talk of rising tensions and gang violence. “Why not bring these two groups together before things flare up and we can’t get them together?” Mitchell said.

Although the two directors say they have not completely moved in yet, three mannequins already decorate the front window of what will become the youth-run clothing store, and children already are attending programs and workshops.

In a workshop called “Hidden Voices,” Carrboro ArtsCenter Artistic Director Lynden Harris leads the youths in dialogue as they recount life experiences to one another.

The teens will come together later in a stage production, performed at the ArtsCenter, which will showcase their individual stories.

But the center’s ultimate goal is to provide a place for teens to socialize and be themselves.

“We want to give them a safe place to learn, explore and build relationships,” Mitchell said. “And sometimes they just need someone to sit down and talk with them.”

Mitchell also added that the center provides a different kind of atmosphere from existing youth hang-outs. “We have enough youth here that you can have teen centers in more than one place,” she said.

Tina Siragusa, executive director of El Centro Latino, a Latino advocacy group in Carrboro, praised the center’s opening.

“I think that having a teen center is an integral part of the health and well-being of our community,” she said.

“I am sure in saying that it will have a definitive, positive long-term effect that we will be able to see in the near future.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.