Civic Service: Providing Opportunity for Millions of Young People
This piece by Sally Prouty originally appeared in French in the February issue of Les Cahiers Bernard Lazare
Bryan was in 7th grade when he left home with his little brother to escape abusive, drug-using adults. He dropped out of school, and took on the responsibility of ensuring his brother stayed safe and received his education. Bryan and his brother had been surviving on the street together for three years when I met him. He had just enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a modern day version of the pre-World War II U.S. jobs program that provided income and job training to participants who also committed to much-needed service to the country.
During the program, Bryan obtained his high school graduation equivalency, enrolled in college, became an exceptional role model and community leader, and began working as a heavy equipment operator after graduation. He came to think of the CCC as his family, and when he married, it was with the CCC Camp Manager, Walt, as his best man.
The story of Bryan’s formative years is not unique, but rather representative of millions of young people around the world. And while Bryan’s story has a positive ending, the reality for many young people without intentional development opportunities and support, is not as fortunate. Instead, our 14–17 year old adolescents who do not finish high school, are involved in the juvenile justice system, are young, unmarried mothers, or are in a foster placement will not successfully move into productive adulthood.
The goal of my 30-year career in positive youth development has been to improve the life chances of youth and young adults like Bryan by highlighting their potential and advancing strategies to address the challenges they face. My hope is to help people see this potential in our young people, provide insight that is useful to others who are inspired by the promise of our youth like I am, and to stimulate policy discussion that effect change and creates opportunity for our young people to realize their potential.
My experience confirms that disconnected youth (young people who fall into these categories) want to be productively engaged. They have every bit as much potential as their more fortunate and accomplished peers, and want to be contributing members of their communities. Unfortunately, leaders and citizens in general seem to lack awareness of the value of engaging these young people as assets to their communities.
Research in Opportunity Road: The Promise and Challenge of America’s Forgotten Youth, estimates the social and economic cost associated with long-term youth disconnection at $252 billion per year. And the report’s most salient conclusion — gleaned directly from disconnected or “opportunity youth” themselves — was their resounding desire to be productively engaged and self-sufficient in their own lives, and to be of service to their communities. What’s missing is opportunity.
To be sure, the challenge of reengaging millions of young people disconnected from the mainstream are immense. Programs like the CCC are making a powerful difference for small numbers of young people — but estimates of the numbers of disconnected youth range upwards of 5–6 million in our nation alone. What we need is a broader solution — and a grander vision.
To achieve impact at a level that could meet the challenge we face requires an understanding of the factors that cause youth disconnection in the first place. My experience suggests the biggest contributors are negative community influences and increased risk behaviors, including the use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs.
According to Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), an independent nonprofit organization in the United States representing 5,000 community coalitions, student substance abuse is a significant risk factor for academic problems such as lower grades, absenteeism, and high dropout rates. The more a student uses alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, the lower his grade point average is likely to be and the more likely he is to drop out of school. Compared to their non-using peers, high school students who use alcohol or other drugs are up to five times more likely to drop out of school.
The connection between drugs and alcohol and the growing challenge of our nation’s disconnected youth his undeniable. It’s a difficult subject, but no matter how good our schools and alternative programs are, unless we acknowledge and effectively address the challenges associated with the use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs, large numbers of young people have virtually no chance of being productively engaged in our society.
Conversations about youth facing these kinds of challenges can be difficult, sometimes emotionally trying and perhaps easier to ignore for some. But ignoring the challenge, in this case, means turning away from our nation’s young people.
At the root of these persistent challenges is a pervasive lack of connectedness in communities. One thing research also indicates plainly is that sustained contact with positive, caring adults and a supportive community are essential for our young people to overcome negative influences and be prepared for productive adulthood. And building a community that is committed to supporting our young people is a shared responsibility.
During my seven years in service as director of a Civilian Conservation Corps operating two residential and six non-residential sites, I had the opportunity to know thousands of young men and women who had committed themselves to building healthy and productive lives. And I saw firsthand how drug/alcohol testing and access to counseling, treatment, and 12-step programs contributed significantly to their success.
Creating healthier, more resilient communities capable of supporting the positive growth and development of children will require a community-driven cultural shift, holistic approaches focused on repairing the civic fabric of our communities, and creating a supportive environment for our young people to thrive. Community Renewal International (CRI) provides an example of how rebuilding relationships, one neighbor and one block at a time, can produce this kind of transformational change. The CRI program is designed to capitalize on the dedication of community residents to build a renewed, caring community.
In Shreveport, Louisiana, this approach has yielded a We Care team of over 50,000 people, hundreds of volunteers, and has positively transformed the community. CRI has expanded to various sites in the United States, on college campuses, and in West Central Africa. After a visit to Shreveport, Ed Morrison from Purdue University’s Center for Regional Development noted that the prevailing approach to poverty is to see it as a set of largely unconnected problems that can be fixed. Thus at the federal level, we have a proliferation of strategies to deal with weak schools, poor health, dilapidated housing, and absence of jobs. According to Morrison, none of these work very well because they are addressing symptoms. Instead, he suggests, it is necessary to build community first.
National and community service and civic engagement have become increasingly important subjects in discussions focused on addressing complex national challenges, including reengaging youth. In concert with community-based partners, service provides access to pathways leading to success in postsecondary education and careers while also empowering youth as leaders and problem solvers in their communities.
NCoC and PACE
Examples of current efforts led by National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) include the study of civic health–the manner in which communities organize to define and address public problems. Civic leaning is also central to civic engagement efforts. Civic learning refers to efforts that ensure our nation’s young people have the skills and tools they need to sustain civic engagement over a lifetime. A recent multi-phase project — a collaboration between PACE and NCoC–explores how civic learning can also be a pathway to equity and opportunity for our young people.
NCoC pursues its mission of strengthening civic life in America through a nationwide network of partners involved in a Civic Health Initiative designed to support increasingly engaged, resilient communities. NCoC’s other programs include cross-sector conferences and year-round engagement with individuals and organizations interested in utilizing civic engagement principles and practices to enhance their work. At the core of these efforts is the belief that every person has the ability to help their community and country thrive. Communities with strong indicators of civic health as measured by the Civic Health IndexTM have higher employment rates, stronger schools, better physical health, and more responsive governments. A newly-released NCoC report entitled Civic Deserts: America’s Civic Health Challenge concludes by saying: “all young people should be oriented to the study of civic health, its implications, and to their individual and collective responsibility to improve the civic health of their communities.”
PACE is a network of foundations and funders committed to civic engagement and democratic practice. Its members share a belief that our nation will be more healthy, successful, resilient, and productive, if democracy is strong, and if the office of citizen is treated as central to how it functions. PACE aims to reinforce the value of civic engagement, and amplify commitment to this work within the philanthropic community. In 2017, PACE created the Civic Engagement Primer, a resource designed for funders seeking guidance in understanding and assessing their interest in civic engagement, providing a framework for exploring what it means to invest in this work.
NCoC and PACE have embarked on a partnership, Civic Learning as a Pathway to Equity and Opportunity, to highlight the importance of and promote conversations surrounding civic learning as a means of helping communities address the challenges they face. At NCoC’s 2017 Annual Conference on Citizenship, the organizations partnered to facilitate discussion concerning how we can reclaim civics amidst division, enable communities to build an inclusive foundation of committed change makers, and embrace the civic education of young people in a solutions-oriented approach to addressing the issues facing America. This event was just the beginning of their collaboration to promote civic learning.
Conclusion
Civic engagement is not the only answer to the challenges facing disconnected youth and young adults, but it represents a significant piece of the puzzle. Enhancing community-based work already underway utilizing civic engagement principles and practices will empower communities to change from within, and embrace health and wellness holistically to support the young people at risk of coming to school unprepared or missing it altogether. This commitment will also enable communities to enhance school reform and commit to re-engaging students who are out of school. Shifting our community culture to embrace and support all of our young people will make the difference they need to thrive. It’s a responsibility, but also an extraordinary opportunity; ultimately we are the beneficiaries of young people who are engaged and active community members.
As a nurse, I came to the world of service and youth development with a focus on health and wellness. And after 30 years, I am convinced that without this focus on whole community and individual health and wellness, we are unlikely to achieve long-term, positive results. Today, the tide of attention and commitment to civic engagement has begun to turn, and I am hopeful that the heart of the struggle — gaining committed champions who recognize the value of all young people — will become less a struggle and more a national realization.
______________
Sally T. Prouty, recently served as Interim CEO at the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) and Senior Fellow at Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE). She is also former CEO of The Corps Network (TCN), a national association representing service and conservation corps..
