Video: Youth Speak Out About Coventry, Curfew

City officials, police, parents and merchants have had center stage to discuss the incidents and the new curfew ordinance.

But Thursday night adults sat back and listened to a group of about 40 teens and preteens who shared their point of view about youth issues.

The two-hour , hosted by at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, touched on the police department’s relationship with kids, curfew rules, activities for their age group and what can be done about “flash mobs” and fighting.

student Malik Bacchus said he gets invites to large group gatherings all the time, mostly on Facebook.

“They make it seem like it’s a party,” Bacchus said after the meeting. But people don’t go to fight or cause trouble. During the meeting, he and others said there isn’t much for youth to do. 

“People go to Coventry for girls,” his friend chimed in. Kids go to see each other and to hang out, but then the meet ups spiral out of control. 

But adults retorted that kids have much more entertainment now then when they grew up, like game systems. Still others asked what they could do to help — such as starting a teen night at the community center again or offering weekly meetings with performing arts opportunities.

During the forum, Annemarie Grassi, chief executive officer of Open Doors, asked kids questions to spark discussion and then took a few from audience members at the end.

Some youth said they know who starts the flash crowds that have marred recent community events, but they wouldn’t try to interfere or call police.

“We can’t change our peers' minds. They change when they want to,” Cleveland Heights resident Imani Smith said.

Many said that it wasn't Cleveland Heights kids causing the problems — something that has been echoed at and meetings — so the youth of the city shouldn't be punished. Only two of were from Cleveland Heights, for example. 

Cleveland Heights High School student Zoé Cook said she's seen the incidents and the invites on Facebook, too, and it's kids from everywhere organizing meet ups that sometimes lead to problems, even kids from Cleveland Heights. 

"I don't know why they're saying Heights kids are angels — they're not," she said after the meeting. 

However, Cleveland Heights shouldn't be the for solving the flash crowd phenomenon, she said, as it's an issue for many cities in the area. 

As a result of the recent problems at the street festival, the second Coventry fair of the summer . 

Cook said teens gathered on the street and refused to leave, but she didn't see the violence that .

Just days after the event, Cleveland Heights City Council implemented a in the Coventry and Cedar Lee business districts, and added . 

South Euclid gave residents just a day’s notice that the city was  on July 9, and mentioned that they heard several youth there.

But the forum wasn’t to talk about the incidents of the past. Its purpose was to brainstorm solutions to prevent future problems.  

Grassi summarized the meeting when it ended with next steps based on what youth said. She invited Cleveland Heights police to organize a meeting, similar to the weekly  meetings, at the church to help establish relationships with young people that seemed so strained during conversations that night.

She encouraged students to join the Youth of Coventry, a group of 14- to 22-year-olds that officially formed after seeing what happened on Coventry, or start their own.

Sgt. Chris Britton was one of a few Cleveland Heights officials who attended the meeting, and he said it was helpful to hear what kids had to say about the issue. He plans to schedule a Meet Your Police-like meeting for preteens and teens soon.

"It's a great idea to give us a chance to meet kids in the neighborhood and get their views on things, and they can get ours," he said. "I know most of us would rather take the time to answer the kids' questions and try to relate with them ... We aren't against them."

Watch the video above to hear what several youth had to say during the meeting.