I can not believe that I am the only person at Mylot htat is concerned with teens at risk! I have wanted to open a residential school for teens at risk for several years but I am unable to find funding. So, I looked here to see how many people were interested in the topic and was horrified to see that I was the only one!! I can't believ that I am the only person on myLot that is interestd in the future if our teens! is there anyone else out there?
[question posted by WeenitsMom]
responses and comments:
I'm sure there are many people here interested in teens at risk. The problem is finding them...lol There are so many people here that there has to be... It could be they just didn't list that in their interests. I find all kinds of things I never thought to list by reading other's discussions, and then when it asks if you would like to add it, sometimes I do. I am concerned with all children at risk, not just teens. [mari61960]
Yeah, same here and some of the things I do have listed are things that I don't really care to write about! LOL! [WeenitsMom]
Teens at risk is a huge problem in every area of the world, but in particularly speaking about the US. There is little funding available, and the government won't support any programs that are not war related at this time. Even after the claim to be the "No child left behind" presidency. I have always want to open a maternity program/school for pregnant teens, and teach others before they get pregnant. It is a very worthwhile project, and I know there are other projects out there that get overlooked. The most one seems to be able to do at this stage is just become a personal mentor to an at risk teen. I see so many lost kids...and I live in relatively small area. Things are out of control, and I don't see law enforcement being the solution. Do you work with children on a daily basis? What ideas to you have in which communities could reach out to at risk teens? I would love to know more of your ideas and thoughts. [creativedreamweaver]
Seems to me that the only thing that the government is interested in is babies and toddlers as far as kids go. I work with a friends teenage daughter who has been arrested for pot, drinking and now she is cutting. There seems to be some improvement but the reality is that she needs to be separated from the negative influences that are currently in her life. I do not currently work with any other at risk teens but before I became disabled, I worked with teens who had many different mental illnesses and most also had criminal records stemming in large part from their inablility to deal with them. I really don't see this as a problem tht the community as a whole is going to be able to adress. These kids need more personalized attention but until there is an alternative, they wind up in a juvinile detention center which usually makes matters worse. I was talking to a couple of the local judges about a week ago and both of them were so excited about my ideas, but of course, they have no idea how I can get funding. I did request funding for a local group that funds business started by women but they declined as it was not something stictly for the empowerment of women. There is a large plot of Land about 35 miles from here that would be perfect. I want to put up dorms and classrooms and have some livesock. The kids would be albe to escape from the distructive forces they are immersed in and learn better decision making and that there are consequences for their actions. Both good and bad. For example, when you do what is expected of you, then you can expect to earn more priveldges but when you don't, you can expect to lose them. Parents love their children and have a really hard time being consistant especially when it comes to having to be, "the bad guy". So you can't really blame them. Plus government has taken so much of the parents power away from them and put it in the hands of the kids. I would really love to hear you thoughts on this. And thanks for the response!! [WeenitsMom]
I found more discussions by doing a discussion search under "teens". Maybe you should look into them and find more people that are interested. I saw a discussion the other day and was going to send it to you but my computer froze as usual...lol [mari61960]
Thank you, I'll look! Last time I looked I didn't find anything, but I may have used a different tag. [WeenitsMom]
I am with you on that. This has definitley been a goal for me and it really is hard to find anyone willing to do it! I guess you could say that I was an at risk teen once but I actually did it because I didn't have people like you and me (how I think now) to go to for help. I wish there were better resources for starting something like this! Do you have good information on what to do next? If so please share! [redstrawberry113]
Well, it depends on what kind of residential school you are planning to open and if you are planning to open it in the United States or abroad. If this is a long term residential school in the United States, you need to get accredidation and you MUST have a full time medical person in residence. Your teachers must all be accredited and you need to have a mental health professional either on staff or on contract. You will need dorms, classrooms, computers, a kitchen and cafeteria, laundry facilities and options for leisure activities. After that, I think it pretty much depends on your state. Some of the current schools are really great and others I have heard really bad things about. After reading your profile, I wouldn't think that you aould have time to pursue anything like this. Not only is it very time consuming, but it is very expensive. It is nice, though, to see someone you age interested in working with teens. Thank you for the response! [WeenitsMom]
Having been a teen mom myself, it was always those girls I wanted to reach out to the most. Now that I'm an extra adult in the life of a 16 year old boy, I wish I could reach out to all at risk teens. Actually I'd like to get to them BEFORE they become "at-risk" but the truth it the more I see what is going on in their minds the more I realize that they are ALL at risk in one way or another. I truly hope you somehow find the funding for your residential school. It's the kind of place I would send the teen I'm dealing with. Well actually that's the problem, I'm not allowed to deal with him because he's not my child. The thing is no one else will do anything either. [foxyfire33]