Giving a Voice to Those Who Need it Most

When you want to learn about an issue facing American youth, who do you ask?  Many visit the book store or library to scan volumes of research on the topic.  Not a bad place to start.  Others attend conferences and listen to the sage advice of experts on the issue.  Again, a great route.

When it comes to two of the greatest issues facing young people, education and underage alcohol abuse, there are two nonprofit organizations in Austin who are listening to the best experts around: the young people.

Austin Voices for Education and Youth has taken up the high calling of improving our education system in the Austin area.  There vision is that every school in Austin will be an excellent community for young people to learn, live, work and thrive.  As their website so aptly states, “Students will not simply be recipients of this service.  They will be agents of change, leading the reformation of our schools and our community.”

The people of Austin Voices work closely with schools so they can work closely with students.  They provide students with a voice of their own, something that is a relatively out-of-the-box approach.  But it makes sense.  Students are in schools as much as anyone else.  What is incredible about Austin Voices is that they actually listen.

Find out more about Austin Voices for Education and Youth at www.austinvoices.org.  They will be hosting an event to deepen your understanding of “Positive Youth Development” this Thursday, Feb 28 from 7-8 pm at Martin Middle School.  More information is available at their website.

 Joining the fray of youth-led coalitions for adolescents is Youth Partnership for Change (YPC), a program of YouthLaunch.  YPC is a newly designed program in which young people serve as community educators, sharing their knowledge through community presentations and outreach activities to help peers, parents, and community members understand the real dangers and consequences of underage alcohol use.  Like Austin Voices, their approach is not based on morality, it’s based on concrete facts.  Terrifying facts.

Nearly 50 percents of those who drink before age 14 become dependent on alcohol at some point in their life.  Considering the average age of first alcohol use in Texas is 12.4 years old, that becomes a public health issue.  Texas also leads the nation is alcohol-related traffic fatalities among 15-20 year olds.  The picture they painted me of the underage drinking epidimic in Austin was astounding.  Why is nobody listening about this problem?

Youth has its advantages.  Youth are energetic, passionate, ready to take on everything the world has to offer.  But there is a spirit of rebellion closely associated with adolescence, and one of the hallmark manifestations of the rebellion is underage drinking.  Youth are probably less likely to listen to adults about underage drinking issues because of what Billy Suess, on staff with YPC, describes as a “generation and relational gap.”  While adults affected by a underage drinking might be able to convince other adults that this is a real problem, YPC believes that perhaps youth would be more appropriate ambassadors to their peers to talk about the issue.

So YPC has hired about 15 Community Educators made up of high school and college students who have chosen to take a firm, and possibly unpopular, stance on the issue.  YPC trains these young people to be experts on the issue, and they put together community events that shine a spotlight on them.  The hope is that these community educators will be able to gain an audience with their peers.  They speak in schools, they speak at events, they will speak anywhere young people are.

Only time will tell if these young people can make the impact they are working so hard to create.  Our hope is that they can, for this issue is a serious one.  To find out more information about Youth Partnership for Change visit the YouthLaunch website at www.youthlaunch.organd click on the YPC link.