We’ve been thinking a lot lately about the youth in our community, particularly after some very troubling instances of violence. That goes for us at Mosholu Preservation Corporation and many other concerned citizens and organizations in the neighborhoods we serve. Our concern can be boiled down to two questions: Many local teens have serious issues. How can we help them deal with them? Who among us will help?

Most groups working with young people as part of their mission try to reach young people from 12 to 21. That sounds like a big age spread — sixth grade to college age. But the move to middle school is when the seeds for dropping out are planted. And less than half of the youth in our communities are likely to graduate from high school. Even though so few can go to college, it makes sense to keep working with kids at least until they turn 21.

There are about 22,000 people in this age group in Community District 7 — Norwood, Bedford Park, North Fordham and University Heights. That’s a lot of people. Well more than half of them are not in school and there are not enough youth centers, GED programs, etc., to pay attention to them all. Granted, lots of young people are successful workers, parents and otherwise positive members of the community, but too many of them have basically nothing to do and don’t know what to do.

I started writing this on Veterans Day when there was a story in the New York Times about the last living WWI combat veteran. He is over 105 years old and lives in West Virginia. He left home at 15, moved to another state and found work at a bank. Within a year or two, he lied about his age and went off to war. Sadly, going off to war is still an option, but not for 15-year-olds. And the idea of a young man or woman leaving home at 15 and finding a job in a bank or almost anyplace else is pretty far-fetched today.

The industrial jobs that supported their parents and grandparents, indeed all of ours, are long gone. We have not come up with enough opportunities to replace them and those that do exist require more education and training than many young people have.  

After one particularly bad incident of violence in our community, some young people spoke at a meeting that included a lot of elected officials and local leaders. One young man said he finished high school with a Regents diploma but didn’t have the encouragement to go further with his education.

I was struck with the passion and intelligence with which he spoke. Maybe he did just need encouragement. Maybe they all just need positive encouragement. Or most of them anyway. Sounds simple and impossible right? I still say hello to a few neighborhood young men who played little league with our now grown sons. They always smile and are glad that I recognize them.

More than one expert has written that the best way to know if a young person will succeed and not do bad things is to see how many adults know him or her by name. The more I go to meetings and events to talk about planning things and doing things for young people, the more I think we should all spend more time getting to know our young neighbors and encouraging them to do positive things with their lives.

—Dart Westphal, Publisher