Southeast Queens youth are looking for a voice, and they may have found a place willing to put their words to paper.

Senator Malcolm Smith’s office is working to create a youth newsletter "put together by a group of young adults. It will speak just to young people," according to Smith’s Director of Constitutent Affairs Fred Simmons.

There is currently a small group of youth committee members working on the newsletter, reading news articles to see how it is done, he said.

One of the volunteers is 23-year-old Akiya Allen of the Rockaways.

"I want to help get young people involved. I want to make the community a better place for my children," the mother of three said.

She also believes that the youth need to be listened to because there are things that the adults need to understand. For example, "There is no recreation center for young people in Far Rockaway. People say that young people engage in destructive behavior, but if we had a recreation center, we would have something else to do," she said.

Two other young people, Shamecca Williams and Kewanna Scott, are helping with the newsletter and the youth development committee.

According to Simmons, Smith is casting his net wide to find help with his efforts. "We are asking all the community groups to be a part of our youth community building. We are not excluding anyone. We are trying to make sure we keep everyone involved. We are calling our office phone number our youth hotline. It is for people between 14 and 22 or even older to give us a call to become a part of our youth committee," he said.

Though he is concentrating on Southeast Queens, Simmons sees a possibilty of Smith’s efforts reaching farther. "We are growing. We anticipate the group being 100 strong. I’m not placing any limits on it. I will deal within the confines that I’m in. It’s more of a cause for Southeast Queens, but if it becomes infectious, that’s fine. We want the result to be that adults allow young people to have an input. They deserve that," he said.

At Smith’s 2000 "Youth Speak Out" forum, "the young people brought out that people don’t listen to them," Simmons said.

"A youth speakout," he explained, "is a meeting were we inform the local community of our youth development committee and the different youth committees in their community with an opportunity for the youth to voice their opinions."

As for last year’s Speak Out, "Here is the primary thing. Too many people believe that our young people don’t have what it takes. We talk at them rather than listening to them," he said.

According to Celeste Morris, Smith’s chief of staff, "Our young people need to have the support and guidance of their elected officials. They are in need of a lot of services and activities that are designed to help them be put on the road to success."

According to Morris, the result of youth being left without positive occupation was seen this year in the case of Thomas Johnson, "a student at Christ the King. He was killed by another young man in the Rockaways, and it was basically about a cell phone. There is going to be a walkathon during the summer" in support of a scholarship foundation in his name, "which we’re going to give our full support to. He was a great student and a great athelete, and education is the future," she said.

"There is a problem when young people don’t have the proper support mechanisms. They have too much access to drugs and guns. This is a problem throughout America; it is a problem for youth in general. It is a problem throughout our city. We have to keep young people involved in positive activities," she said.

Allen’s concerns have been echoed at the speak outs.

According to Simmons, "The senator has had two youth speak outs attended by over a hundred people. One of the things that the young people have been saying is that they don’t have enough to do in their area. For some kids, I find that there are programs in their area that they do not know about. They complain that there is no central location that they can say, ‘Here is a place to gather where we have different youth activities.’ That complaint is pretty much accross the board.

"Another thing they say is that nobody is addressing their need to earn. They want to work all year round as opposed to just the summer.

"Another complaint is that nobody hears them. It is one of the things that has led us to keep with our efforts. They feel like they are a separate entity. They feel that they don’t run anything and they don’t have a voice," Simmons said.

Smith is working hard to make sure that he is listening to his younger constitutents, and that his community listens, too.

"This is important for three reasons," he said,"The first reason is that I want to show that I believe in the young adults and they need to know that there is someone who looks up to them.

"The second reason is to destroy the myth which so many people believe that young people have no interests other than videos and video games.

"The third reason is I want to get them ready to take over the society because they are going to be the ones to do it."

Simmons is charged with bringing these plans to fruition.

Simmons explained, "When I came on board in August, one of my first assignments was to form some sort of youth committee."

Morris said that Smith will be hosting a job fair for young people some time this year as he did last year.

Smith said that he has gotten some private and public funding for the programs. However, the youth will have to earn other funding.

"We’re trying to show some committment on the part of the young people. The more they do, the more people will see it and will want to help by donating," he said.

Young people interested in being a part of the forums and newsletter as well as local residents interested in donating their support can contact Simmons at 291-9097.