OAKLAND -- When Erin Clark, 20, discovered Downtown Transitional Age Youth program in Oakland last year, it's safe to say she didn't have a strong sense of herself. As a girl, she had spent time in schools where she was in a minority as an African-American and also on campuses where the mostly African-American student body thought she was "an Oreo."

"Downtown TAY is the best because it's centered in culture," she said. "It helps you discover who are you. Who were you? Who will you be? Why?"

As disorienting as Clark's childhood was, other young people in East Oakland face even more traumatic experiences. The rate of violence and homicides result in many negative outcomes. Loved ones try to heal from the loss of someone who meant so much to them. Communities become weakened by vulnerability, struggling to remain resilient in environments and climates that seem insurmountable.

Too often we forget the trauma that witnesses or victims of crimes are left to wrestle with -- in some instances, for a lifetime.

However, programs such as Downtown TAY work to create a space for young adults between 16 and 24 to heal from the trauma they have experienced, with the goal of achieving overall health and wellness.

The stated mission of Downtown TAY is to "empower the young adult community by connecting them to their culture, inspiring hope, promoting critical thinking and cultivating creativity while supporting their overall health & wellness."

"It's a feeling that people have when they come in. Filled with symbols of themselves and the culture," said Desiré Johnson-Forté, Downtown TAY's program coordinator.


Launched in 2013 and located along Oakland's San Pablo corridor, Downtown TAY offers services and resources such as workshops and one-on-one sessions that connect youth to their culture. It also exposes them to tools for financial literacy, the importance of health and wellness -- all in an effort to achieve self-sufficiency.

The offices of Downtown TAY are open Monday to Friday, 12 to 7 p.m., and also serves as a space for participants to receive one-on-one and/or peer group counseling or support. Johnson-Forté said the majority of the youth who participate are African-American and come from the transient or street life and are disconnected from mental health services and resources. Many also face challenges such as lack of housing, personal safety, finances, employment, transportation and access to food.

For many who walk through its doors, complex post-traumatic stress disorder is also a weight that many carry. For some youth in Oakland, exposure to violence is "an everyday occurrence, and that environment does not change," Johnson-Forté said. The program is a safe space for them to recalibrate and is a change in scenery that fosters positive wellness practices. "There aren't many places for black youth to be -- not many safe places to congregate without being harassed," Johnson-Forté said.

For transitional aged youth such as Clark, Downtown TAY fosters a sense of consistency and ongoing support in an effort for youth to become self-sufficient. Clark, a Mills College junior, is currently a peer leader with the program.

During her childhood, Clark and her family lived in Oregon, Stockton, and Oakland -- and with each location, she struggled to fit in. "My parents took us to places for a better life -- but it was a struggle to navigate and code switch," she said.

Downtown TAY's environment cultivates self-determination and leadership building -- vital elements to help youth navigate cities like Oakland, Clark said. Through facilitated dialogue for youth, ongoing support, processing and reflection, youth are able to face the trauma they have experienced as they navigate their path to healing.

Clark explains this process as being like walking through, "a hall of mirrors and none of them are dirty -- and this is scary. It's really hard for people to look at themselves." As the youth in Downtown TAY go through this process together, it promotes connectedness and collegiality.

Recently, Downtown TAY has adopted a cohort model in which small groups of youth convene on a regular basis for two to three months. Participants also benefit from the social networks they establish among each another. Johnson-Forté explains that the youth-driven peer support allows for participants to "move toward a goal of a better path for themselves."

Upon transitioning out of the program, many of the youth have gone on to get jobs, return to school, or establish better living situations. And they are always welcome to come back for more support. "There is no judgment -- if you need us, we're here," Johnson-Forté, said.

"It is the thing that kept me alive," Johnson-Forté said about her work with young people. "I dealt with fatalism for a large part of my life. But if I had not attended programs with people that looked like me and connected me to support and resources, I don't know where I would be."

Downtown TAY is a program of the Health and Human Resource Education Center, a nonprofit organization that receives funding from entities such as the Alameda County Department of Public Health and Behavioral Health Care Services, for a variety of substance abuse and mental health prevention programs, and community leadership opportunities.

Katherine Brown is a 2012 Oakland Voices graduate. The program is run in partnership with this newspaper and the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. Oakland Voices is funded in large part by a grant from The California Endowment, a nonpartisan health care foundation.