Hartford Youth Data Fellows Lead Spring 2023 Data Walk

Representative Maryam Khan with Youth Fellows: Isaiah Perez, Tatiana Watson, Nasere Lewin, Yandell Alvarez, Rhaili-Em Lowe, Khamari Thornton, Syree Little, and Naieem Kelly.

Naieem Kelly discusses 3-1-1 findings.

Yandell Alvarez and Isaiah Perez present findings on youth mental health resources.

Khamari Thornton presents on disengaged youth in Hartford.

Rhaili-Em Lowe discusses FAFSA completion rates for Hartford students over time.

CTData’s Hartford Data Collaborative and the Hartford Youth Data Fellows held a Data Walk on Monday, May 15, 2023 from 4:30-6:30pm at CTData’s office in downtown Hartford. Eight Youth Fellows presented data projects on children & youth, community safety, education, and mental health services: Yandell Alvarez, Naieem Kelly, Nasere Lewin, Syree Little, Rhaili-Em Lowe, Isaiah Perez, Khamari Thornton, and Tatiana Watson. Community members, including policymakers, representatives from community-based organizations, local businesses, universities, and foundations, attended and discussed findings with the youth. The Hartford Youth Data Fellowship and the Data Walk are part of CTData’s mission to connect people to data and empower an ecosystem of informed data users to enact social change.

Representative Maryam Khan of Hartford presented a citation to each Youth Data Fellow for joining a cohort of youth from Hartford to work with the Connecticut Data Collaborative as co-researchers; for engaging with community and city leaders to better understand city issues and resident needs; and for developing a Data Snaphot and presentation that will be shared on the Hartford Data Collaborative website and with community members in Hartford. Representative Khan is a special education teacher in Hartford who has taught several youth in the program.

Youth fellows presented their findings after a 5-month data training and development program where they learned how to access data about their community, analyze data using a research lens, and develop data visualizations to tell a story about an issue critical to their community. The Data Walks were separated by topic areas, with multiple rounds of presentations as community members and leaders came by throughout the timeframe. Tatiana Watson said she appreciated having a “bite-sized crowd” to present to, which allowed her to refine her talk for each group. Nasere Lewin presented on chronic absenteeism, noting that everyone was surprised by the nearly 80% average chronic absenteeism rate for non-magnet high school students in Hartford. Yandell Alvarez said the data he and Isaiah Perez presented on youth mental health services was well received. A nurse who attended was interested in the data on discharge rates for youth receiving emergency mental health services. Khamari Thornton, who researched children and youth in poverty, said he enjoyed doing his own research, not just receiving facts to recite.

Each presentation has data visualizations, including neighborhood maps and charts in 2-page Data Snapshots. Links to download the Data Snapshots can be found here. The data all reflect topics with which the Youth Data Fellows have lived experience growing up in Hartford.

The Data Walk marks the culmination of the second round of Hartford Youth Data Fellows, who work with staff from CTData on data projects related to the City of Hartford. Last year, youth presented findings from their review of the City of Hartford’s UNITY program and the number and type of children and youth participating in city-funded summer and year-round enrichment programs. CTData is grateful to the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving for supporting the Hartford Youth Data Fellows program. More information on the Hartford Youth Data Fellows program can be found here.