Self Determination
Youth development programs work best when young people are allowed to choose from a menu of activities and projects.
In 2004, adult and youth representatives from two Making Connections site teams sought assistance from MYTOWN, a Boston-based non-profit, on how to engage young people in the initiative’s work. MYTOWN trains youth to tell the city’s story while providing them with ways to advocate for themselves and their community. Making Connections Hartford was engaged in an effort to document problems in their community and wanted to use MYTOWN as a vehicle for youth advocacy and leadership. Making Connections Providence sought help engaging youth in their work to connect low-income families to jobs, community services and neighborhood support efforts.
Engaging youth in telling the stories of their families and communities can be an ideal platform not only for building leadership skills but also in helping them combat stereotypes about who they are, what they care about, where they come from and where they’ll be able to go as adults. Getting them to do that is a trick that takes practice and skills.