Youth development workers are there for our kids during Corona lock down
I have worked with after school programs for almost twenty years. Seeing what my clients and colleagues are doing right now, while all of the schools and their programs are closed, I could not be more proud of the work they are doing.
- Youth development workers are calling families, and asking them how they are doing — and listening to them.
- Youth development workers are connecting families to resources, to make sure they have food, to make sure they have computers for their children.
- Youth development workers are giving young people the opportunity to interact with their peers in low stress environments.
- Youth development workers are asking young people to talk, and are listening, and elevating their voices.
After school programs have many benefits for children and adolescents. The people who work in after school programs have relationships with children and families that are often hard for teachers to build. Teachers give out grades, which can create stress. Many parents have difficult memories of from when they were in school, which makes them uncomfortable when talking with anyone they think of as being part of “school.” But the college student running a basketball club or the Community School Director don’t have these barriers in the way. This doesn’t diminish the importance of teachers. In fact, youth development workers are so important because they are different from teachers.
The relationships youth development workers have with children and families are absolutely critical right now, and they have an important role to play in supporting families:
- Identifying needs and connecting families to resources. Youth development workers are often the ones who can find out that the reason why a child hadn’t been online is that the family is too pre-occupied with trying to get enough food, or because they are grieving,because they are trying to get out of an unsafe situation, or because three children are all sharing the same computer.
- Providing space for peer interactions and supporting connection to school. Youth development workers create space for kids to be kids with each other online without it impacting the boundaries and structure of virtual schooling.
- Supporting social-emotional skills that will build resiliency. Youth development workers encourage children and adolescents to identify, name, process, and express emotions.
Youth development workers are and always have been tireless advocates for children and youth. I am so grateful that they are out there listening to young people and for putting young people in the center.
I know that my clients and colleagues are worried about their families right now. They are working with families who have lost their sources of income, who are worried about food insecurity, and who are in unsafe or impermanent living situations, including many thousands of homeless children in and outside of New York City (in many schools, more than 20% of children are homeless). But the work they are doing are all drops in the bucket that will protect our most vulnerable families.
“It is not up to you to finish the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” (Hebrew proverb, Pirkei Avot 2.12).
I know we know this, but sometimes it’s good to be reminded.