Troubled Teens Resources

Very frequently those who work in some form of teen crisis intervention come away from their experiences working with troubled teens with quite a few uplifting moments and stories.

Such is the case with one individual efforts to reach gang members. The result was a harmony of voices where once there was only discord. The most effective teen help there is, is the guidance that leads a teenager to successfully exploit and profit from their owns gifts, talents and skills.

“Three folk and blues musicians walked into a juvenile detention center full of young felons last year, armed with nothing but guitars and a repertoire they feared the teens would shout down.
[..]
The musicians were there to help the teens write a song.

Their song.

In their voices.

Voices that - until that moment - were lost in a cyclone of drug abuse, sexual abuse and crime that had defined their lives.

Ball, a syndicated humor columnist… first entered the W.J. Maxey Boys Training School in Green Oak Township in 2005.

He went in with a plan to crack open the tough shells of some young felons with a creative writing program. He came out, courtesy of a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, with a 15-minute DVD showcasing an insightful young poet.

That success compelled Ball, a former Chicago garage band guitarist, to bring the roots musicians to Maxey Boys and the Adrian Training School for girls.

In the spring of 2006, they went in with a plan to expose the teens to roots music. They came out with Lost Voices, a new nonprofit.”

(Source)

Teen age drug abuse can lead kids to some very lonely places. Lock-up is one of them. It depends on the teenager. For some, home is worse. There is no place to hide. There might be a drunken parent inside the house and gang members on the corner. Juvenile detention centers that utilize jail time to reach these teens are far ahead of those juvenile centers that simply warehouse their population.

While incarceration is not desirable, it sometimes puts troubled teenagers in a position to hear about a world he might otherwise never see. To hear words spoken that he never hears spoken in his home. Words spoken by Sedlak have reached many troubled teens.

At 16 she ran away, lured by the prospects of lazy afternoons and smoking pot in golden California. What she eventually ended up with was a year of hell.

“Sedlak talked about going cold and hungry, getting beat up on a regular basis and having nothing but the clothes on her back. After more than a year on the streets, the 17-year-old decided she needed to change her life.

“I got sick of never having the things I needed to be comfortable. Sick of the people I was hanging around with. Sick of the limitations my bad decisions were placing on me. I was 17 at the time and completely disgusted with how I was living my life.”

Seldak’s testimony demonstrates the power of choice. Teen help is the most powerful when a teen is taught about choices and accountability.

“Holding up a handful of gold medals, Sedlak challenges the students to turn their lives around by making the right kinds of decisions.

“I was told by my high school teachers that I had no ability in track and field events,” she says, holding the medals out for the students to see. “It’s so important that you don’t let people discourage you from doing what you want to do.”
[..]
“Stop blaming others for your failures,” Sedlak said. “I want every one of you to spend some time thinking about why you’re here and what you’re going to do to stay out of here from now on. None of you belong here. You are all bright, good people.”

(Source)

Teens at risk for gang indoctrination and recruitment aren’t limited to America. New Zealand fights the same problems as American parents and communities.

“A South Auckland community torn by gang violence is battling to win the souls of troubled teens.

A group of Otara born and bred ex gang members and youth workers, Crosspower Ministries and 274 Youthcore, says it is a tug of war with local gangs for the hearts and minds of the kids.

“The gang escalation has gone to a point where it’s very alarming,” says Crosspower Ministries 274 spokesperson Sully Paea.

Gangs are luring youth by giving them kickboxing lessons, winning them over with a gangster rap lifestyle and promises of the high life.”

An associate who has taught martial arts and weight lifting at schools for troubled teens talked about how powerful it was for a teen to extrapolate the discipline of physical sport to govern their own lives. The key is when the teen discovers their own power to affect the course of their life through good decisions. Graduates applied that wisdom in confronting all of their challenges.

But gangs teach the opposite. They may use kick boxing to teach, but in doing so they demand loyalty to the gang. And there is the difference. Power can be harnessed for good or bad. Where my friend used martial arts and sports discipline to inculcate independence and self-reliance, the gang confers token power in exchange for the teens identity and independence.

“They’re filling a need where there’s an emptiness in our children growing up today,” says Paea.”

(Source)

Here is teen crisis intervention in it’s simplest form. After school extracurricular activities.

“Research has shown that participation in after school activities is associated with higher levels of academic achievement and self-esteem, as well as lower levels of substance use.”

That is so very true. A friend is an athletic trainer who had an opportunity to work with gang members incarcerated in a small troubled teen facility. After a teen reached a certain level in the honor system he was granted gym priveleges. My friend continues to be impressed with the profound results that the simple discipline of sports can produce.

Sports demand that a participant call strength and will from deep inside. It is an arena where discipline’s rewards are immensely satisfying. The transformation of an insecure teen into one exhibiting confidence simply by virtue of pushing past his limits while lifting weights serves as a profound lesson. A teen enabled to see the power of their will to break through a wall and overcome their own weaknesses is empowerment in the true sense of the word.

• In 2005, most youths aged 12 to 17 (92.4 percent) participated in at least one school-based, community-based, church- or faith-based, or other type of activity during the past year.
• Regardless of family income, youths aged 12 to 17 who did not participate in any activities had higher rates of past month cigarette and illicit drug use than those who participated in four to six or seven or more activities.
• Among youths aged 12 to 17 who participated in any activities, those with higher family incomes showed a consistency.

(Source)

You let the appearance of the first tattoo slide. You think it is probably the influence of your teenage daughter’s new boyfriend. You feel like you’re walking on eggs around her, so you haven’t mentioned that you thoroughly dislike this young man. He has the same tattoo on his forearm and you are sure that that is a bad sign. It reminds you of a brand of ownership. And that is what your daughter acts like - she acts like this new boy owns her. And then there is the rough treatment that you’ve witnessed. What is it all adding up to? Could your daughter possibly be involved in a gang and what is the best method of intervention if she is?

If your teenager is lonely or has always been unpopular in school, if your at-risk teen is angry and accusatory, blaming the world for their every ill, they are prime candidates for the seduction of belonging in a gang. Intervention is necessary early on to prevent the developing ties of loyalty and identity from becoming an unbreakable bond.

Here are some factors that contribute to a troubled teen’s attraction to gang life.

• Racism: When young people encounter both personal and institutional racism (i.e., systematic denial of privileges), the risks are increased. When groups of people are denied access to power, privileges, and resources, they will often form their own anti-establishment group.
• Poverty: A sense of hopelessness can result from being unable to purchase wanted goods and services. Young people living in poverty may find it difficult to meet basic physical and psychological needs which can lead to a lack of self-worth and pride. One way to earn cash is to join a gang involved in the drug trade.
• Lack of a support network: Gang members often come from homes where they feel alienated or neglected. They may turn to gangs when their needs for love are not being met at home. Risks increase when the community fails to provide sufficient youth programs or alternatives to violence.
• Media influences: Television, movies, radio, and music all have profound effects on youth development. Before youth have established their own value systems and are able to make moral judgments, the media promotes drugs, sex, and violence as an acceptable lifestyle.

from Why Do Young People Join Gangs?

A parent must seek intervention if they suspect that their at-risk teen is flirting with the idea of joining a gang. Without early intervention, the teen quickly assigns all of their loyalty to this destructive force and it becomes more difficult to break the bonds the longer the affiliation is continued. The link above will guide parents towards the appropriate steps towards intervention.