Youth as Resources: A New Approach to Juvenile Justice
A Forum — November 14, 1997
Predicted increases in the U.S. youth population have led to anticipation of a growing youth crime wave and adult fears of youth violence. This fear has led to a move away from justice and prevention issues to huge prison budgets providing food, shelter, healthcare and new ball fields while many public schools have no heat or playing fields. There is, however, good news. According to Jack Calhoun, Executive Director, National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), "demographics are not destiny," the crime rate is actually falling, over 60 percent of young people contribute positively to society through volunteer activities, and 2,000 Youth As Resources programs in 18 states with over 100,000 participants are achieving and celebrating youth contributions to their communities.
Youth as Resources
Youth As Resources (YAR) is a community-based program, sponsored by NCPC, that provides small grants to young people to design and carry out service projects that address social problems and contribute to significant community change. Through YAR, young people gain leadership, planning, teamwork and other life skills, a sense of self-worth, accountability to the community and pride in their accomplishments. These accomplishments are publicly celebrated in their communities. Young people ages 5 to 21 become YAR volunteers.
Jack Calhoun describes YAR as a way to "claim" youth who are disconnected from schools and neighborhoods and to reconnect and involve them in positive activities. He says, "Young people are not pathologies waiting to be unleashed, they are resources." YAR is inexpensive, highlights skills youth already possess, builds youth resiliency and altruism, gets away from labeling, is effective, exciting and fun.
The types of projects completed by YAR volunteers include a basketball club, sixth graders walking younger children home from school, teen mothers presenting a play on teen motherhood, young people putting a new roof on a home, distributing bicycles to children who don't have them, a play on the importance of African Americans adopting children, preparing meals for the elderly, kindergarten kids putting love notes in lunches given to the homeless (the homeless became advocates for the kids), a teen parent club creating a store where young parents can rent car seats, purchase diapers/wipes etc., creating a kid-friendly teen center, building a playground for battered women.
Indianapolis
YAR is run by local Boards of Directors made up of youth and adults. Dax Gonzalez, Special Initiative Program Coordinator, Youth As Resources Indianapolis began his career as a YAR board member while still in high school. He says that although we often hear that young people are the "leaders of tomorrow, " we usually forget that they can also be the leaders of today. In fact, to not feel helpless, young people need to see that they can act against the problems all around them. With user-friendly grant applications to help address community needs, YAR puts young people in the forefront of social issues as part of the solution.
The YAR model program is for all youth in all communities. After successful implementation in many communities, YAR began some specialized projects in public housing and in correctional facilities. In Indianapolis, YAR programs have been in several correctional facilities since 1987. Initially, the correctional community was reluctant to participate as they were very focused on eliminating "youth behaviors," not fostering them. Now the Indiana State Correctional system provides funding for YAR at each of its facilities and includes YAR principles in all its staff training.
Baltimore
Jennifer Cheslock, Youth Board Member, Youth As Resources Baltimore and National Board Member of Youth As Resources is a 16-year old high school junior. She joined YAR in part because she was very impressed that youth and adults were treated as equals and each had one vote at board meetings. She says, "this is totally different from what you see in schools. As a Board Member, Jen attends Train the Trainer Workshops where young people learn to make presentations on YAR and learn leadership, communication and social skills. She also runs workshops for prospective grant applicants to describe what types of proposals the Board will consider in their next funding cycle. Proposals rejected by the board often are not truly youth-led or do not benefit the community.
YAR Expansion
Maria Nagorski, Executive Director, Center for Youth as Resources, NCPC, explains that
YAR started ten years ago as a demonstration. After an evaluation of YAR at three sites showed evidence of success, both the YAR model and the ideas behind it were widely shared and YAR has expanded significantly. YAR successes go beyond the young volunteers and direct service beneficiaries to changes in attitudes about young people: a Mayor's Advisory Council has included youth as board members and many others are listening to youth voices, celebrating youth accomplishments and engaging young people as full partners with adults. Teachers and other adults are learning to share power.