Posts Tagged ‘youth’

Excuse me Waterloo Region, your homelessness is showing

In the past two years there has been a sharp increase in both the number of people using emergency shelters and the number of shelter bed nights, which means more people are using shelters and they are staying longer. When I look at this homelessness statistics presented by WRCPC’s Snapshot on Crime, I experience a range of reactions.

I am angry because having people homeless in Canada is just poor social policy. Studies have quantified that the costs of having people homeless are more than the cost of having people housed with adequate supports. The Real Costs of Homelessness illustrates this point exactly.

The costs of hospitalization or incarceration far surpass the amount of money needed to house people in the community. People who are homeless are admitted to hospitals five times more often than their housed counterparts and stay longer than other low income patients. When adequately housed, an individual’s use of these services decreases.

Each level of government is contributing dollars and policy toward ending homelessness. In the new Federal Budget, 5 year funding was announced for two programs- one that provides supports for people experiencing homelessness and another that provides capital funding for new affordable housing. While these announcements are gratefully received, there is not enough funding attached to get serious about ending homelessness. There is still no Federal Housing strategy. Canada is the only G8 country without such a policy.

The Ontario government now requires each municipality to have a homelessness and housing plan. They have recently amalgamated a number of funding programs which allows municipalities to create responses to local needs. This is all good. However, there was also a decrease in funding and again while all money helps, it is not enough to really solve the problem.

Locally, the Region of Waterloo has provided funding that exceeds the provincial average for supports to those who are experiencing housing issues. However, as their funding base is the smallest, realistically there are limits to their ability to pay for an end to homelessness.

I am angry because we know about the problem and we know how to fix it. What we lack is political will on the part of government and a prioritization of this issue by the general public. As a result, people in our community continue to live in substandard, unaffordable and inadequate housing.

Like many things, my personal viewpoint has been impacted over years of having conversations with people who are living the experience.  For me it is no longer a theoretical issue. It is about real people in Waterloo Region who are struggling to have a place to live. As I think about all of the people I have met over the years, the increasing number of shelter users leaves me feeling sad. Canadian comedian Rick Mercer has a rant on homelessness where he talks about how no one aspires to have “homeless” be their career. When I look at some of the people with the most challenging difficulties, I think about how, at one stage, this person was someone’s child. Hopefully, someone held that child and had hopes and dreams for them. Never would the goal have been homelessness.  I have seen how poverty and homelessness wears people down. Mental health and addictions start or become exacerbated. Hope and determination are often victims of this reality as well.

Dr. Samantha Nutt, founder of War Child Canada describes her experiences in international development work as going from the inexperienced naïve belief that she could really make a difference, to feeling defeated in the face of such overwhelming obstacles and situations and then beginning a journey to discover what it was she could actually do.  This is not unlike my journey through working with people who are experiencing homelessness and the systems that respond to this issue. I don’t have either the financial means to pay for affordable housing or the skills to build it.  However, I can talk and write about the issues. I can start conversations. I can read the research, stay up to date and keep learning. I can take the time to talk with people who are experiencing homelessness to learn more about their journey, what they want and need and to help develop a way to meet those needs.

This is not a battle that I am waging on my own. Every day dedicated, bright, compassion people work in a range of services from street outreach, shelters, housing help, specialized housing programs, legal services, support services, subsidized and supportive housing, all with the aim creating a more just and inclusive society where everyone matters. They are joined by a mountain of community volunteers who show up and share their gifts and talents.

When I look at the shelter usage stats I also feel determined. I feel part of a sector where I join in solidarity with people experiencing homelessness and many community members who together stand up to say – people who are homeless matter.  We collectively are committed to ending homelessness in Waterloo Region. This is a lofty goal, which will take much persistence and hard work, but with the determination and skills of this community, I believe it is possible.

Author: Lynn Macaulay is the staff person with the Homelessness and Housing Umbrella Group (HHUG), a network of people concerned about homelessness and affordable housing in Waterloo Region. She lives in Waterloo with her two cats, Simon and Isabella and enjoys reading mystery novels.

Find more community responses from Lynn’s colleagues in Waterloo Region, who also work to reduce homelessness:

• Knowing other people care: The importance of community to women who have experienced homelessness by Elizabeth Clarke, Chief Executive Officer, YWCA Kitchener Waterloo.
• Housing is crime & victimization prevention by Lindsay Klassen, Program Manager, Supportive Housing of Waterloo.
• Fighting the battle against crime by reducing homelessness by Sheri Cartwright

Homelessness, Victimization and Crime

Individuals facing homelessness are more likely to become victims of crime and/or engage in criminal activity than individuals with stable housing. If charged with a criminal offence homeless individuals are typically charged with minor property crimes and drug offences. It is fair to say that their vulnerability for victimization is of most concern in this context.

The Statistics

Source Data: Homelessness & Housing Umbrella Group, HHUG Report Card (Released Annually)

The Story Behind the Numbers

The number of individuals accessing emergency shelters rose 10% and the number of emergency shelter nights rose by 17% in 2011. These are significant increases after two years of relative stability. These dramatic increases are cause for concern and warrant on-going attention. Homelessness can also be seen as an extreme manifestation of poverty and form of community exclusion.  These factors impact quality of life and are affecting greater numbers of people in Waterloo Region.

Read the Community Responses

• Excuse me Waterloo Region, Your homelessness is showing by Lynn Macauley, Homelessness and Housing Umbrella Group (HHUG).
• Knowing other people care: The importance of community to women who have experienced homelessness by Elizabeth Clarke, Chief Executive Officer, YWCA Kitchener Waterloo.
• Housing is crime & victimization prevention by Lindsay Klassen, Program Manager, Supportive Housing of Waterloo.
• Fighting the battle against crime by reducing homelessness by Sheri Cartwright, Community Volunteer, Friend of Crime Prevention & Co-founder of Dynamic Health Promotion.

Violence Against Women… No End in Sight After 35 Years???????

The local impact of Youth unemployment/underemployment

If youth in the labour market cannot find employment, they find it increasingly difficult to become established in the “adult” world.  They have done nothing wrong. They have done what they were told to do and were supposed to do yet cannot find that suitable connection to the workforce. This impacts their confidence and their ability to “fit in”. Many have chosen to give up and have simply walked away from the labour market making it even harder to find their “place” in the world. This results in frustration and anger and they feel neglected.

We also tend to forget that even very well educated young people are having a tough time finding suitable employment. Many have studied for degrees or diplomas in subjects which are not directly relevant to the type of work they would like to do or the types of jobs they are applying for. This leads to major under-employment which again impacts that ability to become established. It’s difficult to buy a car or rent an apartment when you have student loans to pay back and are only earning minimum wage.

In one case I am familiar with, a young man in his mid-late 20s was finally offered a job in another city at the level he had studied for however, being in debt, he was unable to move immediately. His parents had to support him for several weeks by paying for hotels or renting vehicles so he could get back and forward to his new job and until he could become established. Had he not been able to access that support, his career would have been placed back in the same old holding pattern as before.

This scenario is being played out in households across Ontario and many young people are simply unable to take that leap due to lack of resources or supports and this will impact the youth unemployment rates for the foreseeable future. We are currently seeing young people in their late 20s to mid 30s recognizing that only by going back to school will they get specific skills that will lead them to a career even though they already have a degree but are working in hospitality or service type jobs. That’s fine if you can afford it but many cannot.

On the positive side, both the federal and provincial governments are keenly aware that well educated, and under-employed, young people are struggling and a number of programs and initiatives are either in the works or currently under consideration to support them. Other recent new funding has also been announced which will provide more employment assistance to young people across the board.

In my day to day work I continue to encourage students, and perhaps more importantly their parents and teachers, to put more emphasis on ensuring that the education path they choose will actually match the opportunities available in the local labour market. It is my hope that emphasizing good planning now may help these young people avoid the under-employment trap in the future.

Employment: A simple, proactive measure for reducing crime in Waterloo Region

A 2010 report, “People Without Jobs. Jobs Without People”, highlights concerning trends in the Ontario labour market; noting that we will have both a labour and skills storage by 2031. It also highlights the increased levels of unemployment experienced by the province in the wake of the 2008 recession.

But Waterloo Region’s unemployment rate is improving, right? The information presented in “A Snapshot in Time: The Root Causes of Crime in Waterloo Region” indeed shows the improvement we are observing in Waterloo Region’s labour market (p.9). However, the overall unemployment rate masks some concerning trends for specific segments of our workforce. Unemployment for youth, new Canadians, displaced manufacturing workers, and older workers has remained high despite the overall improvement in local economic conditions.

These structural changes present real challenges to the economic and social challenges our community will face over the next twenty years, including:

• Youth that experience delays in starting careers, and the associated reduction in potential lifetime earnings. As well as the pressure many employers will face when there are insufficient qualified people to fill roles as baby boomers retire.
• New Canadians that migrate to Ontario with professional educations and experiences, who are unable to find work commensurate with their qualifications. As well as employers that cannot access the diverse skilled labour needed to make their businesses globally competitive.
• Displaced manufacturing workers that have not been afforded the continuous learning opportunities in previous jobs and find their skills out-of-date. As well as employers that cannot access their maturity, experience, and transferable skills.
• Experienced Workers (those who are 55+) that find themselves without the skills to compete with a new highly educated workforce and find retirement savings in jeopardy, as well as employers that lose access to candidates that still have ten years of work left, and maturity and skill to mentor the next generation of worker.

As can be seen, these structural changes present potential long term impacts on our local economy and social support structures. With these new challenges come the potential to see increased: poverty, mental health challenges, heath impacts, and as outlined in “The Root Causes of Crime in Waterloo” – an increase in crime.

While these challenges can seem overwhelming, there are many local organizations implementing innovative ways of addressing these employment challenges. The following programs are examples of the specific programs Lutherwood has been working with in Waterloo Region and Guelph:

• Transitioning In New Times: Funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Lutherwood has been operating a demand-side focused employment program. The intent of the program is to more effectively bridge the gap between people experiencing increased unemployment and employers struggling to find qualified candidates for open positions. The program develops training to address specific industry needs, and work to support candidates into these roles. The program has seen meaningful success, and there are provincial replication efforts underway.
• Mentorship for Internationally Trained Professionals: Recently Lutherwood began a Mentorship program for Internally Trained Professionals in the Guelph area, a similar program is run by the YMCA in Waterloo Region. The intent of the program is to connect professional newcomers with mentors in their field of expertise, giving them connection to establish themselves in careers commensurate with their education and experience. A recent Maytree Foundation report shows that mentorship significantly increases entry into professional careers for new comers.
• Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (TIOW): Through this program for experienced workers (those that are older than 55) individuals get employment skill development, skills upgrading, employment coaching, and structured work placements. Through this targeted program these workers are able to upgrade and refresh bring valuable experience, maturity, and skill to employers.

While each of these programs takes a different approach to addressing persistent unemployment in our community, one thing is constant; the intervention is scoped to the needs of the population being served. This approach ensures the effectiveness of the program to address specific needs. Over the next several years it will be important that we continue to seek new approaches to address unemployment being experienced by youth, experienced workers, new Canadians, and those displaced from the manufacturing sector. These approaches should be targeted to the populations being served, should engage each level of government and most importantly engage area employers.

Author: Aaron Stauch is a Program Manager at Lutherwood with experience in both the employment and mental health sectors.

Read also:

• Carol Simpson’s article: The local impact of youth unemployment/underemployment

Unemployment as a Risk Factor for Crime in Waterloo Region

Over the next ten weeks stay tuned here to the blog discussion on The Root Causes of Crime in Waterloo Region where community leaders, community residents and leading experts across Waterloo Region weigh in on the root causes of crime outlined in the report.

Unemployment Rates & the Relationship to Crime

The relationship between unemployment and property crime is well established in academic literature. Generally a 1% drop in unemployment rates leads to approximately a 1% drop in property crime. The impact on property crime rates is believed to be more pronounced when unemployment is high for male youth. Violent crime and unemployment on their own tend to be unrelated. However, when high levels of unemployment are combined with high levels of alcohol consumption it is believed to cause an increase in the homicide rate.

The Statistics

Source Data: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey: CANSIM Table 1095304 (Released Annually)

The Story Behind the Numbers

The 2011 decrease in unemployment in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo CMA echoes a trend that was seen in the rest of Canada.The decrease in unemployment is directly related to a slowly rebounding economy.Youth unemployment improved in 2011 but not to the same degree as unemployment generally.High youth unemployment combined with a growing male population raises some concerns for the local crime rate.

Read the Community Responses

• Employment: A simple proactive measure for reducing crime in Waterloo Region by Aaron Stauch, Program Manager, Lutherwood
• The local impact of youth unemployment/underemployment by Carol Cimpson, Executive Director, Workforce Planning Board

Children in Care in Waterloo Region: At Risk for Future Criminal Justice System Involvement

Over the next ten weeks stay tuned here to the blog discussion on The Root Causes of Crime in Waterloo Region where community leaders, community residents and leading experts across Waterloo Region weigh in on the root causes of crime outlined in the report.

Children in Care

Children in the child welfare system tend to share histories of significant trauma. Children in the child welfare system are also at higher risk of involvement with the criminal justice system. The number of children in care within Waterloo Region therefore is a measure of the number of children with significant risk factors as well as a measure of risk for future criminal justice system involvement.

The Statistics

Source Data: Annual Report, Family and Children’s Services of the Waterloo Region, 2012

Story Behind the Numbers

The number of children in Waterloo Region in the residential care of Family and Children’s Service’s of the Waterloo Region  increased by 19% from 2011 to 2012, while days of paid care increased by only 5%. This demonstrates a significant increase in children placed in care but only a small increase in days in care. This means most of the increase in children in care were short term stays in care. This one year increase warrants an on-going examination to see if a trend emerges or if it is a temporary impact of economic or other challenges facing the region.

Read the Community Responses

• Children in Care in Waterloo Region: Compounding Risk for Vulnerable Children by Jill Stoddart, Family and Children’s Services of Waterloo Region

Children in Care in Waterloo Region: Compounding Risk for Vulnerable Children

According to the 2012 report From One System to Another: Crossover Children in Waterloo Region, “Children living in the care of the child welfare system have a higher likelihood of justice system involvement in comparison to children living with their biological parents” (WRCPC, pg.2). Children who enter out-of-home care often come from disadvantaged families and have been subjected to maltreatment and neglect. The impact of trauma experienced from abuse, neglect, and being removed from their family home can affect a child’s cognitive functioning and may also result in challenging behaviors that jeopardize their development (Reid & Dudding, 2006; Stone, 2007; Trout et al., 2008). As a result youth-in-care are often at higher risk of:

• Involvement in the youth justice system
• Homelessness
• Substance use
• Becoming parents earlier
• Living in poverty
• Using social assistance
• Experience emotional and behavioural difficulties

Four out of ten young people in care have a parent who was a client of the child welfare system as a child. (Leschied et al. London Study, 2003)

Family and Children’s Services of Waterloo Region (FCS) is keenly aware of these research results and is working hard to help improve outcomes for children and youth in care. Admitting a child into care is always a last resort for workers, however when a child is not able to remain safely in their own home, FCS must provide a safe alternative. One of our FCS key service priorities is to ensure that all children have the permanent support of a safe, loving and nurturing family (preferably their own family) in which they can grow and develop towards successful adulthood.

Children in care numbers remained fairly consistent with some modest increases and decreases between the years 2007/08 to 2010/11. However, in the year 2011/12 the agency experienced a significant increase in children in care numbers – 6% over the previous year. As part of a regular review of our service trends, we examined the increase in child admissions to care in 2011/12. Despite the increase, many of these admissions were for short period of time (i.e. five days or less). The increased number of children in care was driven by a number of factors. The economic downturn is felt to have contributed to an increase in referrals and protection applications. The agency also experienced an increase in parents abandoning their children to society care due to lack of resources in the community – particularly resources related to respite services for teens and children with complex developmental/medical needs.  In 2011/12 there was also a lack of regional subsidized day care spaces in the community – daycare is often viewed as a protective factor for young vulnerable children who are more visible in the community when they regularly attend daycare.

Agency and Provincial Response to Youth in Care Outcomes

For those children who do require out of home care, Family and Children’s Services works hard to ensure that these children have every opportunity to develop to their full potential. Each child in care has an individual plan developed by the youth, the family, the worker, and key supports in the youth’s life.  The plan of care focuses on improving a child/youth’s well-being and resilience. Family and Children’s Services of the Waterloo Region, along with other CAS’s across the province, use The Ontario Looking after Children (OnLAC) model to help improve the outcomes for children placed in out of home care. A key focus of OnLAC is the assessment, documentation and tracking of a child’s developmental progress through an annual assessment (AAR-C2: Flynn, Ghazal, & Legault, 2006).

In addition to planning for individual children, the data gathered through OnLAC is useful at the agency and provincial level to inform service planning on many different levels. Review of data by staff, foster parents and community partners provides assistance with evaluation and future planning and helps raise awareness and increases the attention given to improving outcomes for children in care.

Prevention of Adolescent Admissions

FCS is attempting to work collaboratively with our community partners to reduce adolescent admissions to care. While we recognize the stress that many parents face when dealing with challenging teens, admission to care is rarely the best answer.  There are numerous unintended consequences of admitting adolescents to care. Once admitted, youth are;

• Less likely to return home to their family
• Less likely to successfully work through family issues

In addition, having an adolescent youth in care may lead to decreased feelings of competence and confidence for the parents and may lead to decreased feelings of safety and security for youth.

What Can be done by the Community?

• When for whatever reason, parents/caregivers of youth do not feel  capable of responding to the youth’s behaviour the caregivers turn to the larger systems to help contain that behaviour
• The larger systems available to them are education, child welfare, youth justice
• Those systems need to be able to come together in a way that helps support the family in responding to the youth’s distress,  rather than taking a punitive stance or removing the youth from their (wider) system of support
• It is important for these systems to respond from a trauma and attachment informed lens (i.e look to what is underneath the behaviour, help parents understand the impact of trauma and disrupted attachments in their own lives). This will guide the systems in helping the family to maintain the youth
• Interventions need to be aimed at helping the family to return to a place of emotional and physical safety

Jill Stoddart is the Senior Manager of Innovation, Research and Development at Family and Children’s Services of the Waterloo Region. Jill has a Master’s degree in Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University and is currently engaged in her Doctoral studies. Jill has spent the last 25 years in the Waterloo Region working with children and families in Developmental Services, Mental Health and Child Welfare.

Stand up. Speak out.

Stand up. Speak out. This is the tagline for the Male Allies Against Sexual Violence (MAASV) program. MAASV is a public education program of the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region (SASC).

Stand Up. Speak out. is the invitation MAASV extends to men and male youth to be part of the work of ending gendered violence in Waterloo Region. One in five men (21%) reported that they did not actively support community efforts to stop violence against women because no one had asked them to get involved.

Well, we’re asking!

A gendered analysis of sexual violence recognizes that women and children make up the majority of those who experience sexual assault and men make up the majority (98%) of offenders (Statistics Canada, 2003). Given the high percentage of male perpetrators, the significant percentage of boys who experience sexual abuse and the men whose lives are impacted when someone close to them experiences sexual violence, this is clearly a men’s issue too.

MAASV provides training and resources for parents, teachers, coaches and social service providers or will facilitate workshops with youth. Topics include: healthy masculinity, healthy relationships, respect, diversity and more.

Check out Jackson Katz – educator, author and filmmaker – internationally recognized for his ground-breaking work in the field of gender violence prevention education with men and boys. Katz speaks about men’s involvement in ending gendered violence.

In two upcoming guest blog posts you will hear from some of our male allies about their experiences and the strategies and tools they have learned and use in their lives.

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Author:  Joan Tuchlinsky is the Public Education Manager at the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region and coordinates the MAASV program. She is inspired by her five children and three grandchildren to work with others to create a safer and more equitable world.

What Will Convince Red Shirt to Leave His Gang?

My recent trip to Canada held one major surprise and the image, vivid after more than two weeks, of a kid in a red shirt.

I returned from a meeting-packed three days in Winnipeg, where I keynoted two conferences (one at Winnipeg University’s “Thinkers’ Conference”), participated in panels, shared thoughts with people working with at risk kids, and engaged in discussions with political and policy leaders. I also had the pleasure of spending a good bit of time with the Conference’s closing keynoter, Shulamith Koenig, an absolutely amazing woman, the recipient of the 2003 UN Prize for Human Rights.

When I’m on a speaking trip, I always want a jammed schedule: I refuse to air-drop in, give a speech and leave. I’m eager, no, more, I need to steep myself in what’s going on locally: I always learn, returning home spurred on by new ideas, new approaches.

I asked Bob Axworthy, the tireless conference coordinator and my “minder” for the three days, to give me in addition to everything else he had scheduled, the opportunity to speak with a few young people. “I’ll take you to Saint John’s in the city’s North Side,” he said. “Good bit of crime. Low graduation rates. Located in the highest crime area of the city.”

I had difficulty pulling myself away from a conversation at “New Directions“, and so arrived late at North High. The principal quickly took me upstairs, where I met a somewhat guilty-looking Axworthy. “Here’s a microphone. You’re on!”  “I’m on?”  He held open the door, which led to a stage in front of which sat “a few kids” –  about 350 of them at a school assembly.

After whispering to Axworthy that I was going to get even with him, I began with a personal note, describing the profound influence Dr. Martin Luther King had on me and my career. Not much resonance. So I shifted to them.

I had no notes, but this is what I recall of the hour with the kids. “I’m glad you’re here,” I began. “Many of your friends aren’t. Many, if not most of you, have been through a lot of stuff. Some of you have mothers on crack. Some of you may have a dad in jail. Some of you may have seen friends or relatives hurt badly, maybe even killed. Some of you have been on drugs. And some of you have been abused physically or even sexually.

“But guess what?  You’re here. You’re in school. And for some of you, that takes about every ounce of strength you’ve got. What’s even more important is this: what you’ve been through, the tough stuff, gives you a skill. You’ve got a friend who’s into drugs? If you’ve been there, you can help. If you’ve been hurt or lost a dad you can help another who’s going through the same thing. You’ve got pain. We all have some. You have more than most. It’s not going to go away fast, so use it to help others. You see, your pain must not be wasted. And helping another go through the hard stuff will ease your pain like nothing else.

Then I shifted. “Let’s look at what it takes to make it. We’re going to share thoughts about resiliency. A big word. Who knows what it means?” Most hands were in total lock down until one kid ventured, “Hope.”  “Close. We’re getting somewhere.”  Then this, from a half-slouching, half-grinning kid in a red tee shirt: “It means making it when you’re not supposed to.”  “Brilliant,” or something like it, I replied.

The Search Institute, the nation’s premier strength-based/resiliency research entity, points to 42 resiliency characteristics. I have my top five, and began to share them with the kids. I tried hard to involve as many of them as possible, but got only six or seven hands, maybe more. But one thing was clear: Red Shirt dominated, legitimate domination, for without wanting to show it, he watched me like a hawk, and was right on top of most questions…and the answers.

“Number one, a goal,” I began. “You are bound and determined to complete something. It can be small, like making the soccer team, passing your English class. Or it can be larger: graduating, getting a job, being the first in your family to go to college. The point is this: you are determined to make your goal. You are focused. You’re going to get there. Nothing’s going to stop you. If you don’t have a goal, anything can knock you over or knock you down.

“Second, an adult who is always there. Can be a parent, a coach, one of your teachers here, an uncle, a grandmother. Someone you can go to always, especially when you’re hurting”.  I didn’t ask for hands, as this is a conversation for an intimate group.

“Third, a skill, something you can point to”. ‘I can sing. I can shoot hoops. I can make people laugh. I am a brilliant mathematician, and can I ever act!  Discover what you’re good at and celebrate it.

“Fourth, optimism.”  Got a few hands on the definition of optimism. “Optimism can be a form of hope. I have hope. I know things will get better. Or optimism can be described in a theological way as in ‘I know God holds me in his hand.’

“Fifth, altruism.”  No takers on the definition of altruism. I told them that it meant that they had something that someone else needed and that they had a responsibility to help, that real living meant being there for others, too. “It also means that you know you have good stuff. If you share it, it means you feel good about yourself, that you have something someone else needs.”

We ended. I was given a Saint John’s “Tiger” tee shirt and “Tiger” mug just before the kids poured down from the tiers.

I asked the principal to grab Red Shirt. I had to talk to him. She steered him to me. I took his hand in both of mine, and I pulled him close. “I don’t know who you are. But I know this: you’re smart, really smart. And you read a lot.” Slight nod and an almost embarrassed smile. “And,” I said. You’re trouble. I can feel it. But man, you’re brilliant and you can do something huge with your life. Look at what you did today. You were the star. Some big words and big concepts. And you nailed most of it”.   I got an ambiguous half-smile and a curious look. He moved on and out, leaving with a knot of his buddies.

As we walked down the stairs to the car, the principal told me that Red Shirt was the biggest gang banger in the school.

Scott Larson, President of Straight Ahead Ministries, works with the toughest kids in the State of Massachusetts (among many other states). In a recent article, “The Power of Hope,” written for the Winter 2013 edition of the journal “Reclaiming Children and Youth,” Larson said,  “…having a sense of vision for a future is much more powerful [a] motivator than the mere commitment NOT to repeat the painful past…Hope requires saying yes to a future worth having, rather than merely no to that which is not wanted. And generally that future is one that is beyond the limits of past experiences. This is where the challenge to finding hope lies.”  Larson asserts that staying out of trouble, getting out of the gang, staying away from drugs and not getting locked up is not enough. We’ve got to help kids see a different future and then “…have someone walk with [them] through the changes necessary to access that future.”

Strange. I’ve seen and interacted with thousands of kids over my life time. But for some reason Red Shirt sticks with me.

I’m going to ask Axworthy to follow up with him. Maybe become his mentor. Axworthy owes me that. Someone owes Red Shirt that.

Jack Calhoun was a keynote speaker at the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council Annual Justice Dinner in April 2010. Reprinted with permission from Jack Calhoun and Hope Matters.