Creative Writing | Education & Youth | Arts & Culture | Theater | Youth Arts Journalism Initiative | COVID-19 | Ignite The Voice, Inc.
Photos courtesy of Ignite The Voice, Inc. All photos taken before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ignite the Voice Inc. has been making the arts accessible to the youth in New Haven for the past five years. Now, its youngest members are making moves to restructure the organization and let the youth lead.
Ignite the Voice, or ITV, was formed in 2015 by a group of old friends who all had one thing in common—the CityKids Safe Space New Haven, a repertory company partially funded by singer Michael Bolten.
CityKids gave teens access to youth empowerment, multiculturalism, and opportunities in the performing arts. But the company closed its doors in 2003.
Jessica Gilliam, co-founder and executive director of ITV, was one of the youth who got a lot out of CityKids. She wanted to provide a similar experience for young people.
“I grew up with a speech impediment and I never spoke,” Gilliam said. “In CityKids, that didn’t matter. I could sing as a form of communication and they accepted me. CityKids helped save my life.”
Photo courtesy of Ignite The Voice, Inc. Pre-pandemic photo.
She said the friends realized that CityKids had an impact on each of them and they wanted New Haven children to experience those same kinds of life changing opportunities. That’s how ITV got its start.
“We all ended up doing something in performing arts or in the community with kids,” she said. “We wanted to provide something of what we had then for kids in New Haven.”
By late 2019 and early 2020, the organization had lost focus, Gilliam said. It considered dissolving. Then a youth advisory board stepped in. The group now meets on a semi-weekly basis, a practice that has gone virtual due to COVID-19.
“It’s the youth working for the community,” Board President Gabbi Bynum said. “We know what we need and want and Ignite the Voice gives us the platform to do it. The whole experience and leadership in being a part of Ignite the Voice is empowering.”
As youth advisory board secretary, Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School Senior Jamiah Green called it refreshing to have a say in decisions. She said that in her experience, it's still uncommon for young people to get to advise and lead in most arenas.
“The thing that drew me in and surprised me about Ignite the Voice is that it’s the youth ... calling the shots,” Green said. “I didn’t know that the adults were only there to help and we had most of the say. I had never been a part of something where the youth had a say.”
Members of the Youth Advisory Board: Brenda Dimbo, Jessica Gilliam, Josh Asoh, Jamiah Green, Gabrielle Bynum, and Sevon Chambers. Pre-pandemic photo.
Green and youth advisory board member Brenda Dimbo both said they believe the strong sense of unity and organization within Ignite the Voice has helped it continue to grow, even in a pandemic.
“I think planning events and organization are some of Ignite the Voice’s strengths,” Dimbo said. “It would’ve been harder for me to participate in different events being new to the area. It’s just nice to be there.”
A past board member suggested forming the youth advisory board as a way to get more connected with the youth. They never expected it to get as much interest as it did. First board members became the organization's governing body. Then the board kept Ignite the Voice moving.
In a short period, the board has been able to hold information sessions for teens in the community and coordinate workshops.
“At these sessions, the board taught people how to get a job, write a resume, find places who hire teens, a college prep course, and many other things most people at their age should know,” Gilliam recalled.
Though COVID-19 has put in-person programming largely on hold, the youth advisory board has continued to gather over Google Meet to discuss and implement its future plans to serve the New Haven community.
“At the moment we are working on a mental health workshop, incorporating resources tailored to today’s social and political climate,” Bynum said. “We are working towards recruiting more people in the near future from Connecticut in general."
“Ignite the Voice’s main goal is to amplify the youth’s voice to strengthen creative expression and their community,” Gilliam said. “I am very proud of what the board has been able to accomplish now, and what they have planned for the near future.”
Jayla Anderson is a freshman at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School, where her concentration is dance. This piece comes to the Arts Paper through the Fall 2020 cohort of the Youth Arts Journalism Initiative (YAJI), a program of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven. This year, YAJI has gone virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more about the program here or by checking out the "YAJI" tag.