Are youth a societal problem to be fixed or a resource to be engaged?Most people answer the later, even if just to duck an argument, be politically correct or avoid having to discuss "how to fix"...until you go to the editorial pages of local and major newspapers where youth are described as "dropping out," "at risk," "disengaged," "not taking advantage of the education provided," and any number of code words for PROBLEM.During my years on a school board I noticed a phenomena that researchers have confirmed over and over again. Most people believe that the schools in their neighborhood are good and the kids there are good, with lots of potential. They also believe the school system is falling apart and kids in other areas are failing and/or being failed. In other words, we are prone to see the assets and resources of those closest to our experience. A no-brainer when you think about it.So then, how do we discover and engage the assets of those that are not part of our immediate experience. Most of the time we don't. This is just the reality of busy lives and limited time to build relationships within our nearby sphere of people, not to mention those beyond that sphere. I contend that we can discover and engage the assets of those that are not part of our immediate experience by being more aware and intentional about connecting to those near us - because often the "them" are among "us."Harvey Milk new this. Milk was activist San Francisco city council member whose life was tragically cut short and well documented in the award winning movie "Milk." Milk had an aggressive agenda to end discrimination and increase rights for gay and lesbian people. His primary strategy was to encourage gay and lesbian people to "come out of the closet." The theory went, if people knew that their neighbor, accountant, favorite grocery clerk, co-worker, etc. was gay, they would see discrimination and rights more personally, and their fear would be alleviated by realizing that "they" are among "us."The same strategy hold true for youth. We all know young people - either neighbors, relatives, interns, subway sandwich makers, our kids' friends or our friends' kids. But do we know the "at risk" youth? Yes! Do we know it? Probably not. How would are view of foster youth change if our community organizations and associations took the time to develop relationships with the foster youth in our community, and their foster families. What would happen if communities embraced and provided stability for the families that foster and the young people whose life circumstances have led them to a life of "temporary home?"I don't know the whole answer to that, but I know one thing. Our communities would benefit from the gifts, knowledge, enthusiasm, resilience and assets of these young people. And as we receive their gifts, they become valued and we engage them in the web of relationships that is a neighborhood or community and soon "they" and "we" are "us."What is your community missing by not intentionally engaging the youth who also happen to live in a foster home or group home? There is a treasure chest there - how will you open it?
updated by @ron-dwyer-voss: 04/25/19 05:07:42AM

Youth need to be engaged. Somehow we left them behind. Before I began at the Medical Center I worked at a youth and family service agency and our motto was: programs designed, developed and driven by youth. Initially its more work to get the youth to the table and to have them believe that you really want to hear their voices, but once you do, they are very proactive, which is what you want from the next generation. It's really US who feel we need to get in the way.