Bettering the teen scene: how one community saved its teens from committing crime by offering coffee and support

Parks & Recreation, June, 2005

Even though Lake Oswego, Ore., is considered a wealthy community, with a thriving park and recreation department managing more than 535 acres of park property, its teen population was not engaged. The suburban area just 10 miles outside of Portland has organized leagues geared for young children ages 4-13. Once a child graduates to high school though, there is no extracurricular activity to keep him or her busy and out of trouble on the weekends.

But the community was unaware of how serious the situation had become until a 1997 survey conducted by a local group of citizens revealed that out of the 2,300 high school-aged teenagers, 45 percent reported alcohol use within the past 30 days of taking the survey. Even more, 29 percent of them said they used marijuana once or more within the last year. By 2002, the city police department issued 145 minor-in-possession citations for alcohol, and 45 drug arrests of minors under 18.

To respond to the problem, Lake Oswego community leaders organized an asset builder's coalition to develop programs to solve the teen problem. "All kids are at-risk, it doesn't matter if they're rich or poor, they just need enough assets to help them learn to make the right decisions that will lead them to a successful life," says Terri Fackrell, recreation supervisor for Lake Oswego.

In 2000, the coalition held a teen workshop and asked its young adults what they wanted out of recreation, to which the teens responded: entertainment on the weekends.

For two years, Fackrell and three teen volunteers brainstormed weekly and eventually unveiled Java Jam--a monthly open mike night at a local coffee shop where teen bands could play in front of their peers. The monthly sessions had three bands each, and were held from 8-11 p.m.

The first night attracted more than 75 teens, and has consistently held this appeal since it began in 2002. On some months, the night draws more than 125 teens. Java Jam is free and open to anyone who wants to attend. The only cost to the park and recreation department is a sound technician for the bands, usually covered by a business sponsor.

Fackrell says Java Jam has already improved the community. When her department did an analysis from April 2002 to June 2003 (the first full year of Java Jam), the city saw a 47 percent decrease of juvenile problems on Java Jam nights. Another analysis conducted from October 2002 to April 2003, which looked at every Saturday in the month, found that on Java Jam Saturdays, there was a reduction in juvenile offenses versus other nights.

With all the success of Java Jam, it is still only one night. And Fackrell does not foresee expanding the recreational opportunity beyond once a month because there are not enough businesses who could afford to open their cafes for free one night every week to teens who don't usually buy refreshments. But, Java Jam is successful enough to host an annual summer jam fest, with two stages and enough bands to alternate for five hours at a local park.

Lake Oswego is also entertaining the idea of building an inter-generational recreation center, where teens can go for their own activities. Fackrell says she will work with the city to create a large teen room with a small stage and lights, but she says the teens will probably not prefer the teen room over an off-site Java Jam night. "The kids like the grownup atmosphere of going to a deli/coffee shop. They like ... that they're going to a business that likes to have them around, that isn't shooing them away and welcomes them," she says.

Fackrell says Java Jam can easily be replicated in any community nationwide, because of its low overhead and simplistic program. "It's not that hard to start if you can get a good group of students who will help get the word out, because it's really the students that make it successful," she says. "It wouldn't work if we did it ourselves."

For more information on Java Jam, please contact Terri Fackrell at tfackrell@ci.oswego.or.us.