Helping Children Succeed
Youth Empowerment Alliance
Background
Today’s youth are living in a more complex world where they are forced to deal with tough issues earlier than ever before. Children as young as 11 years are being confronted with pressure to drink, do drugs, have sex and bully others. While they are more vulnerable than ever before, middle school students remain an underserved group. We do not fully understand the problems they face, which is primarily because we rarely hear from kids about kids.
What’s the best way to understand the problems that children face? Listen to them!
In 2005, United Way of Morris County, in partnership with local school districts, initiated the Youth Empowerment Alliance, which began a series of in depth conversations with children about serious issues. The first part of this project engaged over 150 students from five middle schools in Morris County in a detailed survey and follow-up focus groups. Following on from the initial survey, an additional 100 middle school students participated in other student-led discussions about these same issues. In this safe and confidential environment, children had the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings about tough issues.
What did they tell us?
The survey revealed that students generally understood rules and consequences both at home and at school, felt supported by their families and friends, and they reported success in school was important to them.
However, a number of significant areas emerged from this research as shared challenges which demand a focused, coordinated response in order to ensure the best possible outcomes for middle school students in Morris County.
THE CHILDREN REPORTED……..
Not always feeling safe in their school or community
Many students reported that they do not feel safe in their school environment because of bullying, fights and lack of knowledge about where to go for help. In order to thrive, children need to feel safe and secure.
- One-third of students in our survey did not feel safe and supported in their school
- Over 50% lacked sufficient knowledge about support services available to them through their school (tutoring, mentoring, counseling etc.)
- Eight out of ten have seen bullying in their schools
Wanting more adult role models
Success in middle school in many cases depends on students connecting with meaningful adult role models in their lives, at home and in school.
- Nearly one-third of students in our survey felt they did not have many adults whom they could contact when they felt upset and needed to speak to someone
- Over half did not feel comfortable expressing their feelings to adults
A prevalence of negative peer pressure
Negative peer pressure intensifies during adolescence, and can influence kids the wrong way.
- One-fifth of students shared that they have been offered alcohol or drugs
- Over 50% knew students their age who smoke and almost 50% knew students who drink
- A third of them knew students who were sexually active
They didn’t know where to go when they needed help
Many children experience emotional problems that are very real and painful.
- Nearly half reported that they knew someone their age who purposely cut or hurt their body
- One-third reported that they knew someone their age who had attempted suicide
Footnote: While information collected cannot be generalized to the entire population of Morris County or beyond, we believe it can be considered a baseline for community understanding. The content is significantly important when continuously exploring strengths and challenges encountered by the youth as well as approaches to better serve them.
Our Vision
The objective of the Youth Empowerment Initiative is to make meaningful changes in the community and the children’s daily environment which will provide the support and sense of security they need to succeed. This will be done by specifically addressing the issues raised in our survey and focus group discussions.
What Happens Next
Through programs and partnerships, the Youth Empowerment Initiative aims by 2010, to have made significant strides in addressing the issues and challenges revealed in our study resulting in an enhanced environment for middle-school aged children in Morris County. Specifically, we will:
- Help children feel safer in their schools
- Empower children with the skills necessary to be strong self-advocates
- Provide the structure to enable the children to connect with trusted, caring adults
- Encourage a culture of positive peer pressure where students pressure each other to do the right thing instead of the wrong thing
- Institute a system so that middle school students know where to turn to receive appropriate treatment for mental and emotional issues
How will this be achieved?
United Way of Morris County - in its role as a convener and community builder – will create and provide leadership to a newly instituted group called the Youth Empowerment Alliance (YEA). This alliance will include key constituents from throughout the county -- schools, agencies, corporations, government, community members and academics -- who have a vested interest in achieving the vision.
With United Way’s leadership, the YEA will define priorities and develop an over-arching plan which will identify, develop and implement focused, measurable action strategies which address the issues raised in the survey.
What will success look like?
Without doubt the ultimate goal will be an improvement in the well-being of middle school youth in Morris County. This will provide our middle school students with the strong foundation they need to have successful high school and college careers and will ultimately lead them to become productive contributing members of our society.
The results will be measured by a significant positive change in the hard statistics.
Get Involved:
To become a part of the solution, contact Liz Warner, 973.993.1160, x107 or email Liz Warner.
Looking for more information on the Youth Empowerment Alliance? Click here to download a pdf of the Youth Empowerment Alliance brochure.
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