Advocate aids youths displaced by storm
Born in the tough streets of Harlem to a mother addicted to drugs and a father who dealt them, Dawn Burnside found refuge in basketball and youth ministry. By the time she reached her early 20s, she started her own organization, Seven Stars, offering basketball and pageant programs to at-risk youths.
“I envisioned a full-blown after-school program for boys and girls that provided character-building of mind, body and soul,” she said.
Burnside offered the program on and off for several years before moving to the Austin area in 2016 to start life anew. As she settled into her new job as an information technology manager, she began connecting with local churches, organizations and school districts to continue the legacy of Seven Stars.
Youth 4 Success is a youth development organization focusing on preteen and teen girls. The for-profit endeavor allows Burnside to oversee a variety of programs, which recently included teaching a leadership program to young women at LBJ High School in Austin and the Pflugerville Academic Center of Excellence.
With Hurricane Harvey sending many displaced families and their children to the area, Burnside said services offered through Youth 4 Success are needed now more than ever.
When Hurricane Harvey made landfall, Burnside said, her thoughts immediately turned to the children of the Port Arthur and Beaumont areas, which are predominantly minority and low-income. She said she thought about how most had only been in school for three days before the floodwaters forced them to transfer to a school in another Texas town. Many would be forced to transfer to a third school this fall after their families get settled into their new living situation.
Burnside said she understood the challenges children can face growing up in poverty and fighting the temptation of crime. Not knowing how to express their frustration, she said, these children may start to act out and the education system may attribute it to behavioral problems.
That categorization, Burnside argues, is what leads this sector of children to the school-to-prison pipeline. But she said counseling can help students get help before it is too late.
“Some of these children moved from New Orleans to Texas after Hurricane Katrina and now it’s a repeated issue,” she said. “Parents are also in trauma and in transition mode. There is no routine, no schedule.”
Burnside said she is working to persuade officials at the Austin school district not to transfer displaced children again. At least 100 families of those children are staying in the Southwest Austin area, she said.
Debra Dupree, pastor of Zion Praise and Worship Apostolic Ministries, is supporting Burnside’s efforts. “If we don’t deal with it now it’s going to be hard to come back,” she said.
Both Dupree and Burnside are members of Black Pflugerville, a community advocacy group that has held events and initiatives to help black youths.
Burnside said funding she is seeking for Youth 4 Success would provide for licensed therapists who can offer trauma counseling to children. Eventually, counseling services could be expanded to parents who are also adapting to their new realities, she said.
“Trauma is trauma, whether it’s a hurricane or an abusive situation,” Burnside said. “We want a safe space for children and their parents to speak, learn, feel and be loved.”