Tom Simpson, Ph.D., director of the Regional Economic Development Center at Missouri Southern State University, moderates a community forum at The Bridge in Joplin dealing with issues impacting youth.
The Southern Growth Policies Board, a consortium of 13 southern states, annually prepares an in-debt report and sponsors a conference whose topic deals with the future of the South. This year the focus is on youth. For presentation at Youth: The Real Future of the South conference on June 1-3, 2008 in Little Rock, AR, Southern Growth, in receiving feedback from community forums and individual surveys, is hoping to answer the following questions:
- How well is your community doing at involving young people in decisions about community problems?
- What impacts could greater youth involvement have in your community?
- What are the biggest obstacles to involving more youth?
A community forum sponsored by several agencies dealing with youth employment took place at The Bridge yesterday in an attempt to bring together adults and youth in tackling those questions. Jason Jones, director of the Workforce Investment Board, Cary Beasley, manager of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce's Workforce Development and Tom Simpson, director of the Regional Economic Development Center at Missouri Southern State University, organized the event to empower youthful workforce clients from around the Ozark area in assuming a role in the betterment of their communities.
Acting as moderator, Simpson defined the event not as a debate but as an opportunity to share ideas in a respectful way.
"Please participate," he told the kids who helped fill all the tables in the room. He explained that their silence would diminish the outcome.
Simpson's admonishment proved unnecessary as most of those assembled were more than willing to unload what was on their minds. And what resulted was a picture of youth caught in a bad economy, lacking family support and living in communities that were clueless as to what kids truly want.
Ashley Micklethwaite, an adult participant and member of the Joplin R-8 Board of Education since April 2007, conveyed a rapport with the kids in response to their frustration over not being recognized or taken seriously by adults.
"Community leaders are able to listen to you as long as your ideas fit theirs," she said.
When questioned about what they considered opportunities to interact with adults, one girl's unhesitating reply was "bingo." While "bars" was another suggestion, "school" was the greatest response. The adults as well as the young people suggested that a teacher, who took a special interest in them, made a difference in their lives.
Michlethwaite said that in order to have a greater sense of community kids be allowed to serve on city boards. Her idea, at least at the table in which she sat, received no further discussion suggesting that the concept of adults affording kids responsibilities was quite foreign to them.
Cary Beasley, the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce workforce development coordinator, got the discussion underway and explained how comments would be recorded for tabulation and submission to the Southern Growth Policies Board. Empowering the kids and getting them focusing on their communities were important outcomes of the event, she said.
Many conversations revealed a huge disconnect between parents and their kids, and that parents seldom, if at all, sit down to dinner with them. However, in mentioning the impact that a parent has on a child's life, one boy suggested that he turned around his life after realizing that his father's behavior actually exerted a negative influence on him. He was in agreement with another group that concluded that they had no motivators, that basically they were becoming leaders on their own--perhaps, just in the process of growing older and establishing goals.
One of the challenges facing communities was how to keep kids from leaving. In answering the question "What do you like about where you live?" the consensus of kids living outside of Joplin was that their communities offered few if any activities for youth. Left on their own many said that easy access to drugs and/or alcohol becomes a factor in how kids spend their time. For one female, whose town she described as having a "little bitty park" and "Sonic the only restaurant," the only thing to do is "party" and that a large percentage of kids consequently were into a drugs/alcohol combination.
Several kids said that, while their communities had recreational programs, they involved fees that they couldn't afford. A need for regional busing was discussed after the conclusion that small towns surrounding Joplin don't have the resources to provide subsidized recreational activities for their youth.
Lack of transportation was a factor mentioned by Dan Mitchell, CEO and president of The Bridge. He hoped that Joplin city officials would consider having the trolley include a stop at his facility from school locations and that he hoped that Moms or Dads would offer to bring their kids home. As for why kids in other communities don't take advantage of what The Bridge offers, their immediate response was that "gas expense was a big problem."
A response to why a large number of kids said they wanted to leave their towns was considered a "no-brainer." Why stay in a town that only offers "minimum wage jobs?"
One response was to move to a warmer climate. Another wanted to move to Springfield "where schooling is."
Curiously, no mention was made of the impact of Missouri Southern on the youth in the community. Instead the impact of The Bridge on Southern as a catalyst for bringing kids into Joplin to swell Southern's enrollment was Mitchell's somewhat prejudiced observation. He also suggested that the survival of The Bridge depends on "what the kids want" or the empowerment of their opinion, a suggestion that could very easily translate to one's community.
This event brought together kids from a specific socio-economic group. What might be considered a failing specifically was not to have invited kids from the opposite spectrum--those with advanced educational goals and who have unquestioned support of their families--in one instance those labeled by the group as "snobs." If anything, the mix might have helped to close the gulf that exists between them rather than just the gulf that exists between the kids and their communities.
Everyone is encouraged to participate in the task of "building youth friendly communities." To become part of the conversation the Southern Growth Policies Board has prepared a survey. It may be found here: here. Go Back | 
