FILLING THE VOID – MEETING THE NEEDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE

FILLING THE VOID – MEETING THE NEEDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE There can be little doubt that this country is in the grip of a profound malaise. The August riots should come as no surprise after decades of descent into levels of greed, envy, corruption, criminal activity and violation of the natural environment which have gradually permeated so much of life in Britain. While a symptom of this descent, the riots are also a manifestation of the wider global or World Shift transition which is taking place at this time (Breakdown or Breakthrough). The media tends to focus on negative aspects of life, since scandal and celebrity trivia sells newsprint. The media has also been accused of “demonising young people” as Sir Al Ansley Green, the first Children's Commissioner, put it in addressing a national NCVYS conference some years ago. The public are therefore generally unaware of the number of excellent initiatives that are taking place in the UK where young people, despite the existence of a high level of ‘generational apartheid', are inspired to live differently. They are choosing to live by higher values and being aware of their potential, are willing to work towards a better future, and also act as role models to others on the verges of society. Such young people must be empowered and have their voices heard and acknowledged. However this must all be seen in a wider context of 'consciousness raising' and the need for a whole person development approach addressing the inner or spiritual dimension of life with the outer, which appears to be linking an increasing army of people together in this Soul purpose. The August riots resulted in a torrent of comment and reaction but a few stand out - “The need for a moral compass” (David Cameron) and “A cry for Help” (Prince Charles). “Spiritual impoverishment” (Telegraph). Dianne Abbot and Ken Livingstone both stressed that the young people involved clearly feel they have “no stake in society”. With the extreme focus on the economy and finance, we are in grave danger of continuing to be blind to the fact that young people are the greatest asset and resource of any society or culture. In less so-called 'developed' cultures, the youth are ensured a structured 'rites of passage' process, yet we leave our young to their own devices in the fragmented, dysfunctional and chaotic situations in which many find themselves. Apart from the basics of Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs, children and young people need Hope, Aspiration, a sense of Belonging, and Love, yet many are, as Camilla Batmanghelidjh of the Kids Company puts it: “struggling to survive their childhood”. • The UK spends more than any other European nation on social problems. • 16-24 year olds in the UK have the lowest levels of trust and belonging anywhere in Europe. • The UK could save £486 Bn over the next 20 years by switching to a preventative system of care for children and young people. (New Economics Foundation) • A 2007 UNICEF child well-being report placed the UK at the bottom of the league table and new research has shown that children in the UK feel trapped in a “materialistic culture”. Yet - “While so much seems to be going wrong in this world, so much is going right. Let us recognise and link up with the vast, diverse and joyful movement for change which is all around us and growing ever more creative and spontaneous and courageous. If we squander all our attention on what is wrong, we will miss the prize: in the chaos engulfing the world, a hopeful future resides because the past is disintegrating before us”. (Paul Hawken - Blessed Unrest) Meeting the needs of young people Making the transition from youth to adult has always been difficult. Some of the milestones - to worker, parent and home owner, for example - have been delayed. A rich 'youth' culture occupies those transitional years, in which identity is built around music, fashion, transient relationships, consumption, education and leisure. During this time young people need to explore and experiment, reject the norms of society and the oppression of adults and seek out roles in which they can express their individual talents and beliefs. In order to discover their role within their community, they also need an engagement with role models. “ Denying or proving the spiritual needs of adolescents may end up creating a void in their lives that either devolves into depression and self harm or is filled by other forms of questing and challenge, such as drinking, unbridled consumerism, petty crime, sexual precocity or flirtation with violence” (USA National Commission on Children at risk 2003) How do we meet those needs? Families and the work environment play a large part in supporting young people and meeting their needs but there is also the potential for the community to be involved, both to support and sustain the fullest aspects of our culture and to assist the development of the young people. As it ‘takes a whole village to educate a child’, there is a need for the wider development of youth activities, volunteering, mentoring and other inter-generational opportunities as part of this process. Informal educators can play their part by supporting active engagement in the community and environment in a way that helps young people to find their own directions in social, moral and spiritual terms. The central belief in working with young people is the potential of young people to transform their personal and social circumstances and so make an important contribution to society. Yet, at a time in our society when the period of youth has extended to 25 years and beyond, policy directs funding largely at young people as - 'students', 'labour' or 'problem'. Stoneleigh Report, 2004 The needs of society “Leaders for Tomorrow's Society”, published as long ago as 1999 by the then Industrial Society, now the Work Foundation, called for new approaches and 'liberated leadership' built on interconnected networks, mutual trust, values, integrity, shared beliefs and strong relationships, which allow for real progress in personal and organisational achievement. “British society as a whole, and many groups large and small within it, face rising alienation, cynicism and exclusion. Without a new, values-based approach to leadership, the risk of social disintegration is both real and urgent. The roots of the latent crisis lie in our failure as individuals, in organisations and communities, to realise our potential. This is sometimes because people don't recognise their own capabilities, sometimes because they are prevented from exploiting them. The result is a growing number of people who have lost their identity, purpose or framework for living. In addition, the response to global competitive pressures is a gradual decline into the realms of the unethical; in the absence of shared visions society is increasingly focusing on the short term and the narrow values of consumerism reign instead of values based on human dignity." “Campaign for Leadership” In Conclusion “It is the nature of the ‘new’ to be carried and expressed by the young, since they are the ones who are least defended against the spirit of the time and the ones most deeply, if not always consciously embedded in it. This is why we should pay close attention to developments in youth and popular spirituality because in and through our young we see most clearly the stirrings of the Zeitgeist”. David Tacey, 2004 References: worldshiftcouncil.org nef@theneweconomics.org www.kidsco.org.uk www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk