| | A Regional Snapshot—May
19, 2008, Cintas Center
Nearly 475 people from more than 12 counties in
the region came together to learn what our youth think about the community they
are growing up in. Presenters from Search Institute and Asset Builders Alliance
(including local youth) shared the data collected from the Attitudes & Behaviors
survey in Oct. 2007. We learned that as a community we are doing some things well,
but overall there are great opportunities to better support young people. Over
60% of the 6300 youth surveyed report experiencing less than half of the needed
building blocks (or assets). ¼ report they have positive adult role model,
nearly 75% say they don’t feel valued by the community and 80% are lacking
opportunities for creative expression. As Dr. Peter Benson, President of Search
Institute, put it, “developmental assets are the necessary nutrients for
growing healthy lives and we are starving America’s children”.
Those who were present made commitments to increasing
the assets of youth in the region. Some expressed interest in incorporating the
findings into their work and others promised to share it with colleagues and friends.
Many said that the data inspired them to take personal steps to engage their own
children, family, youth at church and in their neighborhoods. Read some of the
comments
from participants below. - Identify
my own "work place" at my school and review the results. Incorporate
assets into our 7th & 8th grade "Builders Club"
- To
strengthen families and promote positive communication. To help people see who
God created them to be and to be prepared and excited about influencing their
world in all aspects of life. I want to have these 40 assets in mind as I reach
out.
- Show the youth
of my community that they are appreciated, set boundaries, more parent involvement,
help children get involved in sports/music/clubs/etc.
- Providing
as many kids as I can with a caring adult mentor
- I
plan to share this info at work to encourage implementation of asset building
in our treatment; continue to give out "Hip Hop Hooray" notes to patients;
implement asset building in development of youth ministry I am working with; ask
and listen to teens about their spark;
- I
can become a spark champion; I can promote asset building in college setting
- Communicate
the 40 assets to the parents I serve
- As
a school leader, I want to help make my school a more positive nurturing place;
I want to help teachers realize that they do make a difference and that youth
can be assets themselves; I want to reach out to youth one at a time.
- I
teach so in the classroom in bigger ways but most importantly trying to take every
given, natural opportunity in my daily life to connect to and encourage in many
small ways all of the youth I come into contact with
- I
will go beyond my job of working with children into my community and take a look
at how the youth in my neighborhood are living; I feel that so many of them are
living in single parent homes so I will look into ways I can be a positive role
model
- Asset building doesn't
stop at 5 pm-I need to remember to build assets with my neighborhood kids
- Call
nieces and nephews to check in; build spark idea into staff development plans
- By
believing in them and giving them the resources they need to succeed; staying
involved in youth; living my life as an example; make sure that I make my teens
the highest priority
- To
incorporate "asset language" in our youth programs, keeping the concepts
visual so that implementation can occur with strong purpose and intention
- I'm
interested in getting kids more actively involved in their community-through volunteering
in programs; inspiring students to get involved with various groups & orgs
to develop interest & learn skills
- To
support all young people and to encourage them to identify their gifts so they
can identify their purpose
in life
- I
can be a role model for youth and use youth as resources in volunteer work and
hiring youth in
meaningful roles
- With
our partner agencies play off of each others' strengths to provide more assets
for kids.
- Be a mentor and
role model everywhere I go…church, YMCA, ballpark, work meetings.
- With
grandchildren-much more phone calls, emails, cards;get to know kids more; look
for additional ways
at work
- I
would like to pay more attention to kids in my neighborhood and where I serve
at church with kids; and then also continue to be a good role model for kids at
my job
- I will strive
to offer more creative programs at my library; I will encourage my teen advisory
group to be more active in our community
- Be
a role model wherever I am. Invest in the lives of children and find ways to take
part in development of Future Leaders
- One
way that I will make a difference is by collaborating with community organizations
to bring about
effective change.
- Incorporate
curriculum into programs.
- I
will be informing principals and district personnel about the need for student
connections.
- I can influence
policy decisions for Northern Ky as well as serve as adult role model.
- The
event has really challenged me to step up my efforts in building the assets to
a new exciting level.
- Build
parenting skills that impact student achievement
- Learn
the names of children in my neighborhood
- I
am committed to thanking a young person daily for being who they are. I personally
will slow my hustle and bustle to lift up and encourage a youth. It is my responsibility
to take the extra steps to make eye contact and appreciate the beauty of the youth
around me. They will become more confident when they are noticed, appreciated
and valued.
Find out more about the regional
Youth Speak report
or how participants responded to the data. |
