Troubled Teens Resources

Teens at risk are found in all cultures, across all languages, in small town and large. Even in ethnic communities which shield themselves from popular culture with strong traditional values, the specter of teen age drug abuse is on the rise.

“Katoa would like to see more events like the youth summit, only staffed by professional counselors and psychiatrists trained to cope with the unique problems facing Pacific Islander immigrants and their offspring.

“The Tongan culture is loving and caring and coming here to America, to the Western life, we need to adjust.”

Katoa, a father of a son and daughter in their early 20s, said that one of the hardest adjustments for Tongan immigrants can be “that expectation from the parents to be successful.”

“That really pressures kids to do well and when they don’t, they feel shame, and sometimes they turn to drugs and gangs,” Katoa said.

Like many community leaders, Katoa thinks that one reason so many youth are acting out is due to the lack of a family presence at home. On the Tongan islands, where extended families work to raise their kids together, an aunt or uncle or cousin is never far away to lend a hand in kindness or raise the other in reproach. But in this country, where many Tongan parents work two and three jobs to make ends meet, kids are left to their own devices.”
(Source)

The value in strong and nurturing families is universal. Troubled teenagers have always existed, but where family is strong, the teen can brought back into line and grow into a mature adult.