It Takes A Village, People!

A short time ago, as I was waiting for one of my younger clients outside the school’s main entrance, I noticed a young boy throwing gang signs to a classmate on the bus.  Being a few feet away, I came up behind him and put my hand on his shoulder.  He was barely to my waist.  He quickly looked up, startled.  “Hey there,” I calmly said.  “C’mon man, there’s no need for that.  You don’t have to get into that kinda stuff.”  I smiled, attempting reassurance.  “It’s okay, you’re not in trouble, but what you’re doing, it’s not alright.”  The boy didn’t know what to say, still caught off guard by my interruption. 

A week or two later, I was telling a few colleagues about the incident.  Being that Rockford is a very low SES and gang-prevalent area, there were comments made (somewhat jokingly) that the boy will have someone come after me as a result. 

However, my reasoning for approaching him was simple.   Regardless of who we are, what we do, and where we live, we all have a stake in our community.   The days of the mom and pop stores are gone, and we no longer have the comfort of community “guardians” to keep us in line.  Classrooms are gaining students.  Parents are overworked and stressed, forced to multitask.   And that is if there are two parents.

As a therapist, I see firsthand the effects these stressors have on our youth.  As a citizen, I too am tempted to point the finger at the parent or guardian.  Or perhaps I should blame the teacher, since most of the children I work with spend the majority of their day in a Title I school.  These are the people who are not passing on the lessons to our youth, right?  Not so fast.

Unless you are a hobbit, or have somehow otherwise managed to avoid civilization, (which of course would make it incredibly odd for you to be reading this blog) then you are indeed a part of a community.  This isn’t about volunteering, which is tremendous and a necessity for the soul (in my opinion), but is about your role, duty, commitment, what have you, as a citizen of your community. 

Don’t get me wrong, I know plenty of people who make a habit of this, and do so on a much greater level than I do.  I am the first to raise my hand and admit that I miss opportunities.  It doesn’t take a monumental effort.  Pick up trash along a street.  Go to a park and shoot a ball around with kids.  Make conversation with people who seem lonely or sad.  For one day, hold the door open for anyone.  Paint over playground graffiti.  Bake some cookies for the homeless shelter.  Swing by the local Boys and Girls Club for some play time.

The youth in your community, your ENTIRE community, regardless of SES, race, ethnicity, beliefs, or culture, are in fact, YOUR youth.   They are a reflection of you.  As though they were your kids, grandkids, nieces/nephews, little sister or brother.  If we start viewing our community in this respect, perhaps we all would be a little more likely to take part.