Youth

‘I got a lot of future. … I want to do something positive’: RPAL helps keep kids from returning to jail.

At 15, Demaria was arrested for carrying a gun to school and was sent to West County Detention Facility for 10 days.  Tall in stature and brusque in manner, Demaria said he remembers the nights there as lonely.  “The lights were switched off at 10 p.m., and you couldn’t distract yourself with a book or anything else,” he said.  To avoid any chance of returning to juvenile hall, Demaria — whom Richmond Confidential is identifying only by his first name…

Richmond high schools have worked to become safer for LGBTQ students, but bullying hasn’t stopped

A  junior at Kennedy High School in Richmond, Willow, a transgender and pansexual student, had experienced a hard time in freshman year, being bullied both verbally and physically.  Once, Willow recalled, a boy tried to hurt them by hammering nails upright into their chair. “So I would sit on them and I would obviously poke myself or stab myself on them,” said Willow, who uses the pronoun they. A friend noticed the nails and pulled Willow away.  In a shop…

In Richmond Community Survey, few say the city is a good place to raise kids

Andrea Pierce, who has lived in south Richmond for more than 60 years, is contemplating moving to a better environment for her grandchildren. “It is just not a good place anymore,” Pierce said about Richmond. “Even though I have been here 60-plus years, I have watched it change.” Many people align with Pierce’s views. According to the National Community Survey released in 2021, only 1 in 4 respondents found Richmond to be a good place to raise children. Though that…

At Davis Juvenile Hall, poetry is being used to keep kids out of the justice system

When Donté Clark talks about poetry, his entire demeanor shifts. His cheekbones rise to reveal a knowing smile, and his whole body hums and bobs and bounces as he speaks. In these moments, it feels like he’s on the verge of breaking out into verse.  Clark, an award-winning spoken-word poet from Richmond, hopes the passion he brings to his craft rubs off on his audience. Since April, he’s led bi-monthly poetry workshops for boys at John A. Davis Juvenile Hall…

Cleanup brigade makes 23rd Street spiffy for trick-or-treaters

Armed with a trash picker, plastic bag and garden gloves, Ahmaya Maroney, a senior at John F. Kennedy High School, snagged the paper, wrappers, bottles and cans that dirtied the sidewalks and gutters along 23rd Street in Richmond Thursday evening.  With a corps of about 25 other community members, Maroney picked up litter in preparation of the annual “Trick or Treat on 23rd Street” on Halloween, which is Tuesday.   “I think it’s really important to pick up trash around the…

Pumpkins in a pool — Richmond celebrates the fall with scarecrows and swimming

Celebrate the arrival of fall at the Richmond Plunge Saturday, when a sea of floating pumpkins will be taking over the swim lanes. “Some people can go to a pumpkin patch, and go through a corn maze, and go on a hay ride. And sure, that’s one way to make that memorable,” said Paula Cooper-Tipton, the aquatics recreation program coordinator.  “But another memorable way is to go jump in the water and swim with your pumpkin.” In its 12-year history,…

Getting Richmond kids outdoors — a state grant funds camping, sailing, bike riding and other activities

On a bright and sunny day last week in Nicholl Park, Ariana Martinez, 16, stood with her black hoodie pulled over her head as she and other participants in Richmond’s new youth outdoor program played rock, paper, scissors, laughing as they fumbled the timing. “I’m excited for her,” said Ariana’s mother, Jovita Andrade. “For her to be able to like, socialize and do more things outdoors. Because she tends to stay indoors and on her computer and stuff like that….

WCCUSD partners with firm to help more students access mental health counseling

Nearly 40% of 11th graders in the West Contra Costa Unified School District have reported “chronic sadness,” according to a recent California Healthy Kids Survey.   The survey says chronic sadness has been on the rise in the county and the state, across grade levels, since 2017. “This is definitely shocking,” said LaShante Smith, the district’s director of positive school climate, after presenting the survey results at the Sept. 6 school board meeting.  Smith said the district is hoping to turn…

Tiny houses to shelter 12 Richmond youth, but much more is needed to address increasing demand

Unhoused young people in Richmond will soon have a new housing option — the Richmond Tiny House Village Garden and Farm, the city’s response to the growing number of youth who lack secure housing.  Richmond City Council this month approved a lease for the land with the Richmond Police Activities League, allowing the planned Richmond Tiny House Village Garden and Farm to continue moving forward. Groundbreaking is set for Saturday, with completion in July.  The village will provide emergency transitional…