Two men who share a vision of working with male teens to develop life and job skills have formed a new organization that is having its first public event this Sunday at the Downing Film Center in Newburgh. The group is called It Takes A Village.
Lev Natan and Rick Feltington founded the group after they met while working at the city of Newburgh after-school program and discovered their common interest in helping disadvantaged youth find a path to adulthood outside of gangs. As a teen, Lev had been part of an annual retreat that helped him move into adulthood and he later worked with a Native American elder who led him on a journey of self-discovery that brought him more in tune with the natural world. Rick has produced videos with youth throughout the area and is currently bringing a program designed to foster non-violent communications into a Newburgh school.
Rick says that in the new organization he and Lev plan to work with other adults to mentor young males throughout the Hudson Valley and to eventually give them experience in skills that can be applied to jobs in the green industry.
The It Takes A Village program is built on a six-week rites of passage process that includes coaching and workshops, green job internships, mentoring, and nature immersion. They also plan to produce the story of their journey through a reality style internet TV show.
This Sunday’s screening of Journeyman at the Downing Film Center will benefit It Takes A Village. Journeyman is a one-hour documentary about rites of passage, mentoring, and male culture in America. It will also be shown in a benefit screening at the Rosendale Theatre on January 25th at 7 pm.
To learn more about It Takes A Village, visit their website, ItTakesAVillageNY.org. Click on Events to get more details about the film showing.
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