Young People as Competent Community Builders: A Challenge to Social Work

What would happen if society viewed young people as competent community builders? This question is not trivial, for the dominant view of youths in any society will affect the beliefs and behaviors of adults and of youths themselves. Because adults often view young people as victims or problems, rather than as competent citizens capable of meaningful participation in society, it is not surprising that social work thought and practice also emphasize troubled youths and the services they require (Armstrong, 1996). Not at issue is the competence of youths and the role of adults as allies in the community-building process. In contrast, we started with the view of young people as competent community builders and searched for community-based initiatives in which youths took this approach. We built on the recognition of "youth as resources" (Kurth-Schai, 1988) and as thoughtful, active citizens in a living democracy (Lappe & DuBois, 1994). We sought initiatives in which youths were active participants in the process of personal, organizational, and community change (Checkoway, Finn, & Pothukuchi, 1995). This article reports on a pilot study of exemplary community-based youth initiatives in which young people actively participated in solving problems, planning programs, and providing services at the community level. We identified the initiatives, studied the accomplishments, and analyzed the lessons learned from practice. This article summarizes the research method, highlights case studies, and offers lessons for social work practice. As we learned to listen to the voices and appreciate the capacities of young people as community builders, many of our beliefs about youths were called into question. Perspectives on Youths as Resources Crime, drugs, dropouts, pregnancy: These are the types of images that permeate professional and popular thinking about youths today. This view assumes that young people are vulnerable victims of adult-neglect, poverty, racism, or other forces beyond their control, or that they are "bundles of pathology" threatening the social order (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 1994; Hancock, 1994; Males, 1996; Moseley,1995). Proponents of this view have responded with problem-focused interventions aimed at treatment, rehabilitation, and what Armstrong (1996) called the "medicalization of defiance," an infatuation with mental health solutions to the social problems affecting young people. Social workers, in particular, have adopted this view and seek to "save the children," "defend their rights," or protect them from worsening conditions by expanding needed services for youths. Social workers speak broadly of "youths at risk" as the target for a range of adult-directed helping interventions. The emphasis on youths as victims or problems prevents social workers from looking at young people as competent citizens and providing for their meaningful participation in civic life (Strom, Oguinick, & Singer, 1995). When young people are viewed in this way and relegated to the periphery, they see their social role as marginal and question the relevance of their relationship to the larger social, political, and economic context in which they live. Many interventions, such as those focusing on character education, sex education, and moral training, are value laden and personal in their orientation (Hancock, 1994). They attempt to inculcate particular values rather than to engage young people in critical questioning of the politics and ideologies embedded in the values. Furthermore, such interventions fail to locate the personal struggles confronting young people in a larger political and cultural context that speaks to the interrelatedness of challenges young people face. Questions of racism, sexism, and classism seldom figure into the construction of the problem or the solutions. And, for the most part, young people remain the passive recipients of services rather than active participants in a process of community change. …