From youths' voices

On Tuesday I attended the King County Youth Worker's Forum http://www.childrenandyouth.org/actionteams_schoolage.html which included a dynamic talk by Nancy Amidei, with the Civic Engagement Project.  Following was a panel of youth who spoke eloquently about advocating for youth on youth issues.  The youth effectively articulated ways that we, as adults and youth workers, can engage with and help youth.  Below are some of their points and comments.

* Promote Youth Voice
       - Reward progress
       - Offer encouragement
       - Provide opportunities for youth to engage and for youth to shine
* Show that you care
       - Listening to youth is key to showing you care about them.
      - Talk to them.  Engage youth by asking them what they think or what they want.  If you want to address an issue you are seeing affects youth, ask youth what they think should be done about this issue.  Formulate programs collaboratively rather than creating programs you think might help them without asking them what it is they want/need.
      - Respect them - their opinions, their space, their time etc.
      - Follow up.  One youth pointed out that there are a lot of barriers to attending events.  "If it is at night I have to find transportation and if I’m young I may not be able to ride the bus at night".  She recommends calling youth that don’t show up when you thought they might and offering support.  Sometimes you may need to talk to a parent who doesn’t see the value of the event.  Sometimes you can help them find transportation with another member.  The speaker pointed out that "following up with the youth builds trust and increases their likelihood of attending future events".
* Hook them to get them to that first meeting
      - Feed them -If there is food, more people will attend.
      - Allow them to miss school to attend your event/meeting.  One youth spoke about a conference he attended because he was able to miss a few days of regularly scheduled classes.
      - Make it appealing.  Youth are drawn to what is new and hip.  They want something different from everything else they are doing.  They pointed out that you are especially in trouble if your event resembles school in any way.  One youth spoke of a group he was a member of that did something different every week.  One week they learned time management skills, the next week they went bowling, and the next week they volunteered etc.
* Step back
      - Put yourself in their shoes
      - Let youth get their feet wet even if it means they might fail or stumble.  "This is how we learn".