A free gathering space for Somerville kids called Teen Time@The Dojo has received a $100,000 boost from the Somerville Department of Health and Human Services, it was announced Wednesday.
The grant means more opportunities for teens 14-19 to participate in visual, literary and performing arts projects; Steam, robotics and climate-tech education; civic engagement and leadership development; workforce-readiness workshops; financial literacy and life-skills development; and activities from bingo and trivia to DJing and summertime water wars, said spokespeople for the Teen Time partners. Those partners, The Center for Teen Empowerment and The Dojo, the youth-focused community space at the Somernova innovation campus in Somerville’s Ward 2 neighborhood, in a press release this week.
The grant allows The Dojo to serve more Somerville teens by offering weekly, year-round programming, mentorship and leadership opportunities and a safe after-school gathering place where young people can drop in and spend time, a spokesperson for Somernova said.
“This will deliver exactly the kind of creative gathering space that our youth have been calling for more of and that the city is seeking to grow,” mayor Jake Wilson said.
The lack of Somerville youth centers has long been cited by residents and officials as a problem, but got renewed attention in the fall of 2024, when Somerville’s Central Library cut its hours to keep away teens after a series of disruptive and violent incidents. Opening a teen center was called an urgent priority by a mayoral aide, with locations such as The Cummings School in Prospect Hill and Center for Teen Empowerment in East Somerville identified as possible sites.
“The community has been calling for a teen center in Somerville for decades,” said Katjana Ballantyne, the mayor at the time, “and our teens can’t wait any longer. We’ve heard student input in a variety of venues. They told us they want safe, fun and accessible spaces where they can be themselves. They want options across the city so that all teens can enjoy them.”
Temporary solutions
Solutions at the time were temporary, though. Three summer spaces for teens were opened, and the city said it would identify where to place a permanent teen center.
The project hadn’t advanced by the time Ballantyne was replaced by Wilson and the city entered a budget season millions of dollars in the red. During Finance Committee meetings, city councilors were still identifying a center as a wish-list item. “Funding for staffing and programming to activate the high school as a youth center, plus a space for family engagement outside of school hours” were named as wants by councilor Naima Sait.
“If there is no funding to create new programs,” Sait said March 24, “let’s use our community partners.”
One of those is The Center for Teen Empowerment, founded in 1992 and partnering with city government on similar projects since 2004. Abrigal Forrester, the organization’s chief executive, called running Teen Time in The Dojo space a “powerful opportunity for youth to get the support they need to thrive.” Another partner, Books of Hope, plans programming such as open mic nights.
Designed for older teens
It’s the rare program designed specifically for older teens, organizers said, and well-placed at The Dojo, which is used to creative pop-ups and serving an array of uses. With an outdoor parkour course, youth art gallery, gaming consoles, creative studios, gardens, bike repair resources and flexible indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, it welcomed more than 14,000 people last year at more more than 100 events and programs, staff said in the press release.
“I’ve been in Somerville for 10-plus years, and I’ve never seen a program for older teens like Teen Time,” said DJ Freeman, a recent Somerville High School graduate and now Salem State University student familiar with The Dojo. “They have the best gaming, snacks and always have something going on every week without signing up for anything.”
Teen Time@The Dojo is open to all Somerville youth ages 14-19 at 15 Properzi Way, Ward 2, with intentional outreach to immigrant youth, youth experiencing housing insecurity and others facing barriers to enrichment opportunities. Information is at TheDojo.
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