Shiloe Bear (right) celebrates at the RYSE Commons groundbreaking on September 6, 2019.
This month's blog features a letter by the RYSE Commons Construction Manager, Shiloe Bear of Creek Development who has been working on this project with us since 2017.
Shiloe has overseen the planning and building permit process with the City of Richmond, supported our collaborative work with Anne Phillips Architecture, Oliver & Company, and other subcontractors and vendors related to the build process. She has served as our main point of contact with the various utility companies involved in the new build. Shiloe has been instrumental in getting us to this point in the project.
As a construction manager on the building of RYSE Commons, I am reminded daily of the differences between this project and every other construction project I have ever been involved in.
From the very start, I was struck by the extent to which RYSE staff involved young people in the visioning of the campus. Most projects have a top-down design process wherein the ideas are generated by upper management, plans are drawn by architects, and a spokesperson is chosen to socialize the plan to other staff and teams. With those projects, there is decidedly no input from clients who will be visiting the space.
RYSE youth poets perform at the RYSE Commons Groundbreaking Ceremony on September 6th, 2019. RYSE Commons is slated to open come Spring 2021.
Over 125 young people have participated in design charrettes and surveys, to imagine future space needs, design elements, and programming for RYSE Commons.
The RYSE Commons project was, from its earliest inception, built from the dreams of young people.
For months, RYSE engaged with young people in the community to answer what turned out to be a pretty radical question—what do you need in a space for you to feel safe, grow, and heal?
The ideas rolled in, along with inspiring images of green spaces with flowing water, airy art workshops, yoga and dance studios, open kitchens for teaching and learning, spaces to make music and perform poetry and grow food. All of these images and index cards were gathered and organized into a spreadsheet that became the wish list presented to the design team.
Every detail on the RYSE Commons campus has been born out of those early meetings with young people, and even still, as major design questions come in, the RYSE team goes back to young people and staff for input.
Another really special thing about working with RYSE is the support and excitement from people in the community around the project.
Every step of the way—from City officials, to folks in the building department, to EBMUD—we meet people who not only know about RYSE, but have a personal story of how RYSE helped to guide a young person in their lives.
People at all levels have engaged with the project in a very personal way because they know of the powerful work RYSE does in the community. Things that normally involve long, complicated processes with red tape and repeated reminders move faster. People call back. People care. It’s been really moving to be involved with RYSE and to see that this enthusiasm and support runs deep and has been earned over years of showing up for young people in Richmond.
Shiloe Bear, Creek Development
RYSE Commons Construction Manager
The RYSE Commons Youth Ambassadors team is comprised of current youth members and alumni who work to ensure the project reflects the wants and needs of West County youth.
Support RYSE Commons
An expanded campus for youth-driven, liberating programs and partnerships requires bold and beloved supporters from across the region. RYSE Commons must involve all of us. Show your love for young people and the future they will create.
January at RYSE
RYSE kicked off the new year by opening applications for more paid youth internships, including a partnership with We So Bay, a 10-week collaborative project where youth artists will write, choreograph and perform a show about gentrification, displacement, and belonging in Richmond. The final performance will take place on BART in the Spring.
We also opened applications for a brand new cohort, “Intersections,” which will be a youth-led action research project focusing on the impacts of gender discrimination and sexual prejudice in schools and how these factors contribute to unsafe learning spaces and negative school climate. Over the course of 3 months, interns will create and lead strategies to engage peers and community and develop action research methods to resist against gender oppression and sexual prejudice.
January was also full with workshops! Youth members gathered to discuss and define youth power, sharing their experiences with ageism, adult relationships, systems, policy, privilege, gender, and power. In a “No War with Iran” workshop, members learned about current events in Iran and the history of U.S. Wars. They held Know Your Rights workshops to educate their peers on their rights in schools, the communities, and how to practice self advocacy, as well as a "Health & Wellness is a Humxn Right workshop, to identify who and what gets in the way of their health and wellness, and which systems and institutions need to be held accountable.
Upcoming Events
When Culture Speaks: Fashion Show for Kambi Mo
Join RYSE for a FREE fashion show and art event celebrating Black Herstory Month. Guests will enjoy an evening of celebration and cultural arts by Richmond youth and local, Black fashion designers. In 2018, RYSE visited Kambi Moto, a youth and kids group in Nairobi, Kenya shortly after a flood had destroyed their library. We witnessed the talent and joy of their young people, and will be sharing about their work at our Fashion Show with an opportunity for guests to help raise funds for their education programs, books, and the rebuilding of their library. Join us in uplifting both young people in Kenya, as well as youth artists right here in Richmond.
WHEN: Friday, February 28, 2020
WHERE: RYSE Center
SAVE THE DATE: RYSE Summer Program 2020
RYSE will be hosting a fun and empowering summer program for young people ages 13-21 filled with activities and field trips that will fuel creativity and build leadership skills.
This program is FREE—food, activities and transportation are provided by RYSE.
WHEN: June 8 - July 31, 2020
WHERE: Richmond/East Bay
Know a young person between the ages of 13 -21 who might be interested? Share our interest form so they can be notified when applications open.
Apply for the RYSE SoCal College Tour
Every year, RYSE takes a field trip down to Southern California to visit college campuses.
This tour is an opportunity for young people to explore and learn about colleges in California, access, equity, transforming institutions of higher education to serve our communities, resource centers and students organizations available to them on and off-campus.
WHEN: This year's tour will take place from April 6th to 10th. Apply now!
The college tour is FREE.
To apply, email Luis[at]rysecenter[dot]org or stop by the RYSE Center.
The Census Counts
When we activate our collective power, we come together to fight for a better future and community for us all.
RYSE is a member of the California Black Census and Redistricting Hub and youth leaders and organizers will join 30 organizations across the state in outreach and education efforts to target Black hard-to-count communities in preparation for the 2020 state census and redistricting process.
We count. Be in the count in the 2020 Census.