The Fenix Youth Project, Inc. — Empowering Youth; Creating Leaders
Fenix Youth Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Salisbury, Md. They host creative arts and youth development programs throughout the Lower Eastern Shore.
The project began in the spring of 2014, after a local Town Hall meeting in Salisbury to address youth issues. Amber Green is the founder and executive director.
The motto of the Fenix Youth Project is “Empowering Youth; Creating Leaders.” The program is based on the belief that “all young people should have equitable access to opportunities to develop their creative potential, live richer, fuller lives, and develop the critical learning and life skills they need to become active contributors to their communities.”
A large part of the project’s work is in identifying and engaging homeless youth in Wicomico County. Through hosting outreach events, conducting surveys, and spreading awareness about youth homelessness, they work to “empower marginalized youth to use their creative talents to impact social change within their community.”
The program has a Youth Drop-in Center available to young people from 13 to 24 in the Wicomico County or Salisbury area who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. At the Center, they can
- Meet or fill immediate needs for laundry and food
- Receive personal care items such as shampoo, toothpaste, etc.
- Get help with school work
- Have a personal locker for the security of their items
- Have access to experts on relationships, friendships, and sex
- Receive help from counselors in dealing with loss, sadness, or conflict
- Consult with advocates for help with establishing life goals and connecting with housing and jobs
The Fenix website states: “Homelessness looks different for young people than for adults. Some are homeless as a result of the death, incarceration, or substance abuse of a parent, or overcrowding in their homes. Others run away, age out of foster care, or leave a juvenile justice facility with nowhere to go. Disproportionate numbers are African-American or gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.”
The Adulting 101 program offered by the project provides courses such as:
- Healthy Cooking and Grocery Shopping on a Budget
- Job Applications and Interview Tips
- Rights of Minors
- Eco-Conscious Living
- Budgeting and Saving
The project also provides a teen workshop about safe sex intervention for youth between ages 14 and 19. It is open to all genders and is virtual.
The Fenix Youth Project sponsors programing in the Arts and Media and in Youth Organizing. In the first category are the following:
- Rize Youth Poetry After School Program
- Rize Youth Poetry Team
- Salisbury Youth Poet Laureate Program
- Youth-Led Open Mics
Through team meetings, the Rize Youth Poetry Team program focuses on writing, collaborating, accepting and giving feedback, and learning how to perform personal work to have an impact on the audience. Students compete at poetry slams to win a place on the team and then undergo intensive writing and performance workshops in order to represent the Eastern Shore at the Brave New Voices International Festival that happens every summer.
The Youth Organizing programming includes the Bars Project, a multimedia storytelling and humanities collaboration with StoryCenter. The Bars Project provides a way for minority youth affected by the juvenile justice system to use digital storytelling and public forums to spread their lived experiences, and bring their story to community leaders and decision-makers.
More offerings are expected in spring 2021.
The City of Salisbury partnered with the Fenix Youth Project in February to cast light on Black history and to give the youth an opportunity to share what it means to them. When Amber Green asked youth to identify those on the Black history mural on Church St., many had no idea. The mural was painted by Paul Boyd III and completed in 2020. Green went on to pay tribute to historian Clara L. Small, PhD, quoting her as saying that “we must reclaim our history so that we do not repeat past mistakes.” Students were invited to write testimonials and to record conversations.
The mural depicts five prominent African Americans who were important to the history of Salisbury: Sgt. William Butler, a World War I hero and recipient of the American Distinguished Service Cross and French Croix de Guerre; Charles P. Chipman, respected educator and principal of Salisbury Industrial High School; Elaine Brown, a Salisbury High School teacher; James Stewart, mortician to Salisbury’s African American community; and Dr. G. Herbert Sembly, who practiced medicine in Salisbury for over 60 years.
It is clear that during its brief history the Fenix Youth Project has accomplished a great deal and is providing valuable services to the youth of Salisbury and Wicomico County. Those who wish to support the organization in achieving its goals should visit the website at http://fenixyouthproject.org/.
A native of Wicomico County, George Shivers holds a doctorate from the University of Maryland and taught in the Foreign Language Dept. of Washington College for 38 years before retiring in 2007. He is also very interested in the history and culture of the Eastern Shore, African American history in particular.
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore
