This is one of the most important topics for humanity today. The youth needs more preventative measures than cure. Although these (prevention and cure), are two birds that can also be touched with one stone, prevention is truly a need amongst our youth.
- Educating the youth on what they might be experiencing internally, that fuels all these unacceptable behaviours
- Teaching them ways to channel their own trajectory through building of meaningful characters
- Guiding them through the transformational process and showing them how
- Supporting their environments to sustain the spirit of transformation (both home and school)
- Engaging the same population (youth) to hold each other's hands in treasuring the essence of good character, good morals, becoming a responsible being.
I truly believe the behaviours we see displayed by any being around us, is only a symptom of the storm, or a building storm undercurrent. Therefore, some efforts to combat some of these behaviours and even prevent them from erupting as a reality in our community could focus on targeting these storms undercurrent, through multiple channels.
Education is the biggest tool that I have found profoundly effective in changing the mind(s) of a human being, including troubled teens. Now, I am not talking about just a general education that glazes the exterior of the egg but one that penetrates the shell to reach the very storms we are talking about here. This education (whatever form it may take), would be one that provides a platform for these youth to arrest themselves and also gain the ability to arrest each other with more awareness and intention.
Could we develop short programs geared towards addressing the very pains we hold within our community of Airdrie for the youth?
Could we invest in the workshops / conferences / talks directed at the youth and the specific problems we find on our plate as a community?
Could we also assess and see how the habitats, the very environment(s) our youth spend time in, either support and sustain the very problem we face, or have laid foundations to nurture every effort in making this process a success in the long run?
Could we explore available community resources and expand their capacity to become the brooding grounds for a new, sustainable aura for the youth to learn, develop, grow and become?
A multifaceted approach would be for sure and while I could share more on this, I believe this covers most of my thoughts, and collectively there would be more ideas and approaches.
Many thanks
Katie Israel, Tranquil Pathways Counselling
Airdrie, AB
