CLEVELAND — As cities across the country crack down on enforcement of “Teen Takeovers,” the People’s Office Cleveland is helping youth organize them safely.
“We need spaces to be ourselves,” said Jyana Walston, a 15-year-old Cleveland teen and organizer with the People’s Office. “We need more spaces to grow as a community. We need spaces to have fun.”
“Teen Takeovers” happen when large groups of unsupervised teens show up at the same place at the same time, typically a public park, mall, or shopping center. Some have resulted in fights or vandalism, and several cities are responding by cracking down on enforcement with curfews or zero-tolerance policies…