Teenagers Run the Show at NBCC Forum
 Hands are raised at the February Northern Berkshire Community Coalition meeting on Friday in response to the question 'Who here has been bullied?' posed by Drury 10th-grader Joseph Butler. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Teenagers from the UNITY Youth Leadership Program got to do it their way on Friday.
Participants in the program, ranging in age from 14 to 19 from four different area high schools, planned and led the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition's monthly forum, titled "Creating Support Groups for Teens."
"We're really asking how we can make support groups for these teenagers where they can access the resources they need," said Adam Tobin, a program associate with NBCC's UNITY youth leadership program. "We may not come away with a concrete plan today but maybe we'll come away with a framework."
In introducing the teens, NBCC Executive Director Al Bashevkin cautioned the group of adults in the room representing various agencies to try to put aside their natural instinct to "fix" the problems and instead listen to what the teens are saying.
"It's not our job to fix it," he said. "Our job is to assist our young people, to listen and to follow."
The adults followed the teens into breakout groups focusing on four subjects: bullying, sexual education, mental illness, and nutrition and wellness. Teens led each group, which focused on building support groups to help youth navigate challenges that might arise.
The bullying group started off on a raw note, with Drury High School 10th-grader Joseph Butler reading a powerful poem titled "Don't Judge Me" that he wrote about his experiences being bullied.
"I will stand my ground, won't back down, because this isn't your town, this isn't a game, this is my life. I will not throw this away," he read. "I don't care what you say, I am here to stay."
Butler then asked the dozen or so people sitting in this circle if they had ever been bullied — most said yes — and if they had ever bullied anyone else - most also said yes.
The group talked about reasons why people bully before turning to a concrete idea of a way to help teenagers who were being bullied: a hotline. Some of the adults in the group remembered such a hotline back in the 1970s and 1980s, but nothing like that exists today. The group talked about the pros and cons of a telephone hotline versus an internet chat room-style support mechanism, and how information on such a resource would be disseminated to teenagers.
Other suggestions in the bullying group focused on the idea of a "buddy system" for teens while in school and an after-school program that would offer "self-empowerment" techniques to teenagers on how to stand up for themselves to bullies.
When the breakout groups came back into one group to end the forum, North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright, who floated among the groups to get a taste of the subjects, said he hoped that the teenagers in attendance saw that the room was filled with caring adults who wanted to help.
"Many of our youth suffer from lack of adult support," he said, adding that he personally always wants to hear from teenagers on how he can help create a better world for them. "My door's always open to you guys."
Bashevkin echoed that sentiment.
"You're not alone. There are relationships you can build in this community," he said. "That's what builds community and that's what it's all about."
Tobin sounded the final note on behalf of the teenagers he works with, who will take the suggestions presented Friday and work toward finding concrete solutions.
"It just starts here. It doesn't end here," he said.
Tags: NBCC, teenagers,
