Philly In Paris: The Sky’s The Limit

Philly In Paris, the collaborative project with community roots that brought together several organizations – partnering for the first time – to take nine of the most at-risk students in the school district to Paris, France, was 100% an experiment in community collaboration, and the strength of the commitment of the village. All the facets of the project, from the conception, to the drawing of collaborators, to the coordination, execution, and stewardship every step of the way, were – according to project leaders– “a big trust exercise in community…and it worked!”
As much as Philly In Paris was an exercise in community care, in many ways, the project was also an experiment in disposition vs. environment. This project’s success stands as a refreshing response to the prevailing discourse around violence in the city, which so often frames the youth as the sole originators of the cycles of social chaos that consistently threaten communities in the greater Philadelphia area and disproportionately impact people under the age of 25.
That effectively victim-blaming discourse often doesn’t leave much room to explore other potential causes of the violence, and all but disqualifies any approach to a solution which contradicts that narrative. But when we can reframe a little from, “What’s wrong with these young people who are causing all these problems?”, to, “In what ways can an individual’s immediate environment contribute to or diminish their physical and emotional well-being and amplify their sense of fear, hopelessness, strength, or stability?”, the discourse stands a stronger chance of engendering inclusive solutions that last.
To put it candidly, the stance in these conversations that defines Philadelphia youth as terrorists holding the city in the grip of fear effaces the reality of the spectrum of challenges – both historical and current – that have always contributed to socially unsustainable conditions in Philadelphia and beyond. That point of view, hopefully, will have taken some serious damage in the face of the Philly in Paris experiment: youth who have been broadly labeled chaotic for years traveled abroad with adult supervision, behavioral support, and limited preparation time, and returned without incident and with overwhelmingly positive results.
In the experience of many of the city’s youth, the source of the chaos is the environment itself. Those conditions are all but inescapable and avoiding impact is all but impossible. It makes complete sense that for individuals living under circumstances like that (especially young people), any distance from that chaos can provide an opportunity for peace, perspective, and a mental rest that would be otherwise impossible to achieve. Without the financial privilege to support regular travel, however, that distance — that respite — can be extremely difficult to come by.
Transplanting a group of young adults who represent the wide and diverse spectrum of Philadelphia communities to Paris was certain to have an impact. No one involved or observing could have said for sure what that impact would be, only what their hopes were for the experience – that it would be positive, transformative, and freeing.
After their return home and some much-needed time to process the experience, the students and chaperones from YESPhilly debriefed on what it felt like to be home, what they got out of the experience, and what they’ve noticed about themselves since they’ve been back.
What did you get out of this experience?
What have you noticed about yourself – and Philly – since you’ve been back home?
What could the future hold?
Watch below for more insights and reactions in the students’ and chaperones’ own words.
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