Teens Versus Tourists

Project aims to gather input on teens, influence city spending

Santa Fe youth are typically all too eager to leave by the time they hit young adulthood. Complaints about the few activities in town offered for youth are common. Spending time out in Santa Fe is difficult from a teen perspective, partly because of the city’s obsession with playing to the tourist trade. Going out means trying to navigate a maze of pricey restaurants and tourist attractions. Most teens hold the belief that Santa Fe is too focused on attracting people here and thus neglects its own teenage population.

The Convergence Project is a group of local teens from three Santa Fe schools working on a solution to the youths' problem. Their projects include radio shows, art installments, music and dance events, and much more. Last year, Convergence conducted a survey of over 700 young people from ages 13 to 19. The results were illuminating: Only 20 percent of teens felt that Santa Fe is a teen-friendly city; 37 percent of teens reported that the youth community is not very valued or not valued at all; and 44 percent said that it is only somewhat valued. The survey's 26 questions, taken in total, indicate that youth in Santa Fe feel as though they have not been considered in the grand scheme of Santa Fe.

However, teen life has significantly changed as technology becomes a bigger factor for almost everyone. According to the survey, five out of the top six ways that teens find out what is going on around town are tech-related, such as calling or texting, going on Facebook or Snapchatting. And that might be part of the problem: Technology is still keeping them from going out and participating in their community.

Does government spending in Santa Fe say anything about whether the city is invested enough in teen welfare? The city collects a lodgers tax from hotels and other lodging, and that money, more than $8 million in the last fiscal year, mostly goes back into funding the tourism department, which runs the civics center and the Santa Fe Arts Commission in addition to spending nearly $3 million on marketing directed at visitors. Meanwhile, the Youth and Family Services Division has a budget of about $4.1 million for the current fiscal year.

Chris Sanchez, manager for the city's children and youth programs, says those bottom line figures don't tell the whole story. It should also be noted that other taxes paid by visitors fund all city programs, including recreation centers that are popular with teens and services for everyone, such as police, fire and roads.

Sanchez says he's working at more youth engagement with the city. An event is tentatively planned with the mayor next month as a forum for ideas.

The Convergence Project has identified that one of the problems seems to be not that the city does not put in the money to benefit young people, but that Santa Fe needs a way to spread the word that these kinds of programs exist.

Project participants are working on another online survey and invite local teens to take part.

Russell Spinney, a project director, says one of the group's major goals is to "help connect youth with each other and with adult individuals, organizations and businesses who want to help create opportunities for, quite honestly, the underserved populations that are our future here.

"The project, particularly the surveys, also helps us understand what young people are thinking and feeling about life here, and that can help us raise awareness throughout the community."

Under the surface, Santa Fe is filled with great resources like Convergence or the children and youth division, all working to make this a more positive place for young people. But in the end, the most important factor is the participation of youth themselves and their determination to improve Santa Fe.

Mayes-Osterman is a junior at Santa Fe Preparatory School who has been part of the Convergence project for more than two years.

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