Too few young people enter adulthood ready for college, work and life. National data shows that only four in 10 youth are adequately prepared for adulthood by age 21. Resiliency and youth development research indicates that families, organizations and communities can all help youth succeed if they provide young people with the basic tools, supports, and opportunities they need in order to be successful.

Since youth are developing 24/7, the community has a major a role in helping them be successful.   Volunteers serve as big brothers, big sisters, coaches, role models, or mentors.  Research also indicates what communities need to provide all youth to succeed -- safe environments, caring adults, opportunities for voice, civic engagement, hands-on experiences, and challenging and relevant skill-building, are all things that help young people develop to their fullest potential.  (Read more about families in the Catholic social teaching tradition.)


Many of these supports do not cost money, but they are based on how we view and interact with youth (or not) on a regular basis. What cost is there to take a few minutes to regularly check in with a youth you see everyday at the store, in school, in an after school program, or at church? For many young people who face adversity-- your friendly smile and expression of concern may be the only support they receive that day. What is the cost of asking youth to give back to their community or to have a say in decisions that affect their lives? What is the cost of changing the way of delivering curriculum to students so that it is interesting and engages different learning modalities and that is not just rote memory or lecturing? Some of these supports do cost money, but so many others don't cost anything more than a little bit of your own time and energy, perhaps a genuine attempt on your part to lend an ear or a helping hand, offer a shoulder to lean on, or provide a few words of encouragement.

With continuing forced budget cuts in our K-12 public schools, if we continue to take away the basic supports that youth undoubtedly need in order to succeed and if we diminish opportunities for them to learn and grow by closing preschool or after school programs, getting rid of music, arts and sports programs, eliminating free and reduced lunch or school transportation, cutting school counselors or staff-- we will surely pay at the back end with less high school and college graduates, a less educated workforce, and most likely, more delinquents or criminals. 

Despite these tough economic times, and all the challenges and obstacles that our youth face in this day and age, education professionals urge us continue to focus on finding ways to help youth be more active and more engaged so that they can be viewed as more of a valuable resource and as a indispensable asset in their own communities.

One such organization is doing just that: the Youth Development Network (YDN), a non-profit, community-based organization whose main mission and sole purpose is to find opportunities for youth to thrive and succeed in their own neighborhoods and communities.

Catholic schools, sports and afterschool programs, and a variety of additional ways to work with youth are available through (arch)diocesan education programs.  Click here for a list of Diocesan Resources.