Caring for Our Youth

At Trinity Youth Afterschool, more than 200 teenagers a day have found a welcoming community where they get tutoring and test prep, music and dance, athletics and art. 

At 2:30 p.m. every weekday, the Trinity Church version of a parish hall — five floors of a high-rise known as Trinity Commons — begins to pulse with activity. Kids stream through the front doors, grab a snack, and head off to play basketball, get homework help from tutors, or take advantage of free music and dance lessons from some of New York City’s finest artists. Or they just find a comfortable spot to hang out in the building’s cozy dedicated lounges.  

When Trinity Commons was built in 2020, the dream of providing a place for the youth of our neighborhood was a dream delayed by COVID shutdowns. But on March 14, 2022, Trinity Youth Afterschool began in earnest — and by 2024, we were serving an average of 222 attendees daily. 

Afterschool, as it’s known informally, gives students a safe place to be after classes end, especially if they’re commuting to Lower Manhattan public schools from homes across the city. But more than that, it’s a space where young people can just show up and be themselves, said Trinity’s rector, the Rev. Phillip A. Jackson.  

“Maybe they’ll find other students who share their unique interests. Maybe they’ll connect with trusted adults they never would have met otherwise. Or maybe they’ll try a new skill they’ve always wanted to try. Here, they can excel at it — or be bad at it, because there’s space for that, too,” said Father Phil. “More than anything, we just want our kids to feel loved, exactly as they are.” 

Attendance at Afterschool has nearly doubled since the program’s first full school year, 2022–2023. This success was only possible because of a decade of foundational work by Trinity’s youth program leaders, according to the Rev. Matthew A. Welsch, priest and director, Children, Youth, and Family. Trinity staff spent years developing close ties to teachers, principals, and guidance counselors serving the schools in our neighborhood.  

“Through these relationships, it became clear to us that we needed to prioritize programming for teens specifically, because of the way the pandemic had impacted them socially, emotionally, and cognitively,” said Father Matt. “We also knew that we couldn’t just open our doors without putting in the time we needed to build trusting relationships. We got to know the people closest to the teens in our neighborhood, and they got to know us.” 
 

More than anything, we just want our kids to feel loved, exactly as they are.

— Father Phil

Trinity’s Afterschool programming, for young people ages 12–18, offers a range of activities led through partnerships with organizations including JAZZ HOUSE KiDS, the Alvin Ailey Extension, and the Downtown United Soccer Club. From 2:30 to 6 p.m. on school days, students can participate in group sports, experiment with different art techniques, attend guided meditations, or learn to play new instruments provided by the church. 

Popular classes include Basketball — offered through a partnership with Steady Buckets, an innovative basketball, physical fitness, and leadership skills development program — and Open Art, taught by a staff youth adviser in collaboration with local art teachers. 

During the fall 2024 semester, Trinity hired an academic tutor to lead Afterschool’s tutoring and homework help classes. “Hiring an in-house tutor ensured our tutoring program is founded on the same philosophy as the rest of Afterschool,” said Father Matt. “Our tutor has focused on building relationships, giving students personalized support, and encouraging students studying the same things to help each other.” The fresh approach has made these classes more popular than ever: About 178 students came to Trinity for at least one tutoring session last fall, compared to 76 in fall 2023.  

Every school day, nearly 70 students hang out in our Youth Lounge. One of the most extraordinary aspects of the program, according to Father Matt, is how it brings kids from a wide range of socioeconomic and religious backgrounds together around the same table.  

“These kids wouldn’t interact with each other in any other place, but they’ve become friends here at Trinity,” Father Matt said. “That range of backgrounds is incredibly important to us. It’s what Church, at its best, is supposed to be. It’s what the kingdom of God is supposed to look like.”

This article has been adapted from our 2024 Annual Report. To read the original version, please click here.