Norwood parks used to be a fun, free, and safe environment for teens and kids in Norwood to play and hang out. Over the past several years, Norwood authorities have taken down basketball hoops at our parks and schools. Since taking down the hoops, the parks have seen fewer visitors, making them more prone to criminal activity.  Now, many Norwood youth don’t have a safe place to socialize outside of their homes or school. As a result, many youth now spend their time inside on technology, and may be more likely to engage in riskier behavior, including drug/alcohol use, fighting, and illegal activities. An informal survey of teens in Norwood indicated that there are few free and safe places for them in the city. Many popular options, including local gyms, stores, and restaurants, require youth to spend money in order to hang out there. Thus, taking down the hoops disproportionately impacts youth who need these places the most.

We believe that putting the hoops back up in Norwood will promote physical activity and positive interactions between youth, and will strengthen Norwood’s sense of community, discouraging unethical or dangerous activity in the parks and among teens. Restoring and improving our parks will add value to our city, and greatly increase opportunities for Norwood kids, teens, and adults.

Norwood Teen Empowerment Youth Organizers are leading the movement to reclaim safe and fun public spaces in Norwood. Join us in asking the City of Norwood to invest in our parks and our youth, the future of our community!

Norwood Teen Empowerment is a youth-led community action program through which youth aged 12-15 identify issues in their community and design and implement strategies to facilitate positive change. This petition was written by Teen Empowerment Youth Organizers.