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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesWITHOUT ACTION OUR YOUTH HAVE A BLEAK FUTURE

WITHOUT ACTION OUR YOUTH HAVE A BLEAK FUTURE

Twenty years ago, I approached a top official of the federal Department of Health and Human Services and told him that there were no youth services in the Virgin Islands. He said that I was wrong, that the Commissioner of Social Welfare had informed him that there were such services and that they were wonderful. We made a bet. I won, and the result was the initial funding for the St. Thomas/St. John Youth MultiService Center. The concept behind the center was to create a program with "one stop shopping" for a range of youth services, with an emphasis on training and employment. For a variety of reasons, the Youth MultiService Center never fulfilled its full potential and, like other not-for-profit agencies in the Virgin Islands, it finally succumbed to the recurring fiscal crises imposed by a government that didn't pay its bills.
So here we are back at square one. As the young people who testified before Senator Richards committee demonstrated, the problems facing Virgin Islands youth have only intensified in recent years, while the lack of basic services and opportunity have persisted. "We hear you" and "the children/youth are our future" are worse than empty slogans if no action follows. Empty words will only help produce a new generation of angry cynics who realize that whatever hopes they have had are being thwarted.
What is striking about the current situation, not only on St. Thomas but on all three islands, is that the original multiservice center model is still highly relevant. In this respect, the lack of existing services and the relatively small number of young people present an opportunity – if there is a will and the leadership to seize it. In 1980, such leadership was provided by two extraordinary Virgin Islanders, Calvin Wheatley and the late Wilburn Smith. They took personal risk in throwing their support – and dollars – behind these youth programs. It was an honor to work with them.
A new initiative would have many of the same components that the original one had. These would include: afterschool education programs, health care, cultural programs, leadership development, counseling, mentoring, and anti-violence programs, and vocational and employment programs. All of these programs would be located in a single "safe haven" facility where young people would feel comfortable. These programs would adhere to the highest standards and would produce "graduates" ready to deal with the world.
None of this is magic. It is being done in similar settings elsewhere. What it will take is solid adult leadership, the Calvin Wheatleys and Wilburn Smiths of the year 2001. They will have to face up to significant challenges, the most immediate of which will be to identify and secure substantial amounts of money from a range of sources. None of these sources should include the Virgin Islands government, which is the kiss of death for a program that must be mission driven. The challenges of building a committed Board of Directors, finding outstanding executive and program leadership, and designing the most effective programs will follow. All of this is doable.
A program of this sort, developed to a scale where it reaches a substantial portion of the youth population, especially the most disaffected young people, can have an important positive impact on the entire community. The youngsters who testified before Mr. Richards' committee have provided a core planning agenda. The ball is now in the adults' court.

Editor's note: Management consultant Frank Schneiger has worked with V.I. agencies since 1975, most recently as consultant to United Way of St. Thomas/St. John. He is one of the founders of the St. Thomas/St. John Youth Multiservice Center.
Readers are invited to send comments on this article to source@viaccess.net.

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