Podcast: "Leading the Way "

Date: 03/21/2008 | Time: 00:11:45 | Size: 13.4 MB

NCFY staff member Brianna Lux talks to two young people about how youth leadership has challenged and inspired them.

BRIANNA LUX: [music] Welcome to the third podcast by the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth, a project supported by the Family and Youth Services Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Today, we will hear from two youth leaders involved with programs funded by the Family and Youth Services Bureau. My name is Brianna Lux and I am a Youth Policy Associate with the Clearinghouse.

I sat down with Andrew Swain and Stephanie Taylor at the National Network for Youth Symposium in Washington, D.C. Andrew, who goes by Swain, is a senior in high school and an outreach worker for Ozone House, a runaway and homeless youth program in Michigan. Stephanie, who was once homeless, is the Washington State Youth Representative for the Northwest Region and is on the policy council for the National Network for Youth. I asked them about how they became leaders, the challenges they faced, and the advice they would give to other youth leaders and to the adults who work with them. [music]

ANDREW SWAIN: When I was a freshman, I was a little ... I was a talker. I was a little troublemaker. And, uh, you know, you have those people in your lives that are really life changing. And, you know, I would be kicked out of class ... I would get kicked out of class before I even walked in there. My English teacher, she’d be like, “Swain, don’t even come to class. I don’t even want you,” you know.

So, I wasn’t a bad student. But I always was blabbing my mouth. And my teacher, Ms. Falkner, I remember she saw the potential within me. She was like, “You know, try out for this PST group, sexual education.” I’m like, you know, all right. Cool. I’ll make some money talking about sex with a whole bunch of girls. And hey, no problem.

But after I went through 40 hours of training, it was like something sparked inside me. Something ... it was like a catalyst within me that was just like whoa, you know. This is fun. Helping my community. And now I’m a senior and I have over 400 hours of community service.

I’m a role model for a lot of teens that come into our drop in center. Because they see me and they see a young guy that’s still having fun, but also maintaining morals. So they really look up to me and they ask me questions and ask me advice about a lot of things. And really they just need somebody to listen to them. I make sure like if they are going through a serious problem, I set them up with a case manager that I think would vibe with that person the best. And they end up just... it’s a life-changing experience for anybody that goes through that. [music]

My biggest problem is just peer pressure. They just want to keep on doing stuff because their friends are doing it. And they don’t like the feeling of being different than their group. They like to feel accepted, especially in high school. It doesn’t matter what your parents say or your teachers say. All that matters is those friends that you have for 4 years that probably won’t even be in your future.

So when I go out and I try to tell them, you know, that’s not really cool to like, you know, I don’t say it in those dorky ways. You know, don’t do drugs. They’re not cool. You know, that’s kind of whack, you know. But we’ll be talking to them like, man, you know what I’m saying? You shouldn’t even blaze that up. In our language, you shouldn’t smoke that, because, you know, it will mess you up or whatever. They’re like, “man, you know, my boys do it. So, I mean, it’s kind of what I have to do to stay in my group.”

Basically, just trying to pull my peers out of that social circle of staying with your clique. That’s the hardest part. Because they don’t want to leave. They don’t want to leave something they’re comfortable with. They don’t like change. I lead by example. Because, yeah, I can sit here and sound good on a microphone, but if I’m not out there doing it myself, then it doesn’t matter.

So when I started doing peer outreach work, I realized like being yourself is the best gift of all. Just letting people ... and if people can’t accept you for who you are, then, oh well. You know, it’s not worth hiding your identity just to ... just to have a group of friends.

So like, people, they started to notice me not hanging out with the same people all the time. They noticed me ... you know, I’m not stereotypical. But they call them the goths. You know, I’ll go and eat lunch with them. Or the preps, I’ll go and eat lunch with them. They’re like “Swain, what are you doing?” I’m like, I’m socializing, you know.

So when they saw me start doing that, they were like, “Well, I mean, if Swain can eat with the ‘rednecks’, then so can we, you know?” That’s how I lead. Like I have to show them. Because if I just sit here and talk and then I go and do it myself, it’s worthless. [music]

STEPHANIE TAYLOR: I was in treatment for my mental health and cutting. And then I got put into a group home where I then later got kicked out. I was then homeless. I didn’t know how else to get a place to live. So I did what I knew, you know. Threatened to kill myself. And I was still cutting. And so I got sent to West Seattle Psych Hospital. And it’s really scary. And I begged and pleaded with them to let me go. But the only way I could go was if we set something up.

So the caseworker who was working with me at the time, we looked up a whole bunch of places. And YouthCare was one of them. And so I went through orientation. And later, you know, I started going to school there to finish my high school diploma.

I’ve had a significant impact on quite a few people in the cutting community, um, through Web sites that I go to. I’m a support person. I’ve helped save a couple of people’s lives. And I’ve gotten a couple of people put into treatment. I know what it feels like. And I know how alone it can feel like at times. So I started doing research. And I found a whole bunch of sites that offer support. And I just decided that that’s where I needed to be.

Two years ago, one of the people I met on the community, we became friends. And she called me and told me how bad she had cut that night. And how she knew that if she didn’t get help, that she’d probably end up killing herself. And so I convinced her that night to go to her mom and tell her mom what was going on. Because her parents didn’t know what was going on. And I convinced her mom to take her to the hospital, too. And I’ve also been the one to talk to parents to help other people who are too afraid to talk to their parents. [music]

Being a leader is hard work at times. There are times, like, when I wanted to give up because it’s been so hard. So that’s like probably another thing. To know your limits, too. Like and to be honest with people and say, “Look, I just can’t do it.” There’s no shame in saying that, “I’m overloaded,” or that, you know, “I want a break.” It’s okay to say no. And you also need to listen to your body and realize when you are, you know, doing too many things at once.

Leadership also to me means that you’re not afraid to make mistakes and you’re not afraid to make mistakes in front of other people. That you’re comfortable with yourself. And you’re comfortable with screwing up if that’s what, you know, has to happen. And that you’re comfortable with saying, “Hey, I made a mistake.”

The biggest challenge that I run into is the actual definition of a youth leader. Because reality is, is I’m 23. Technically, at 23, you’re an adult. But through some of the laws and stuff, you’re a youth until 25. Or at your agency, you’re a youth until you’re 22.

So it really gets hard sometimes when you’re trying to be like a youth leader or do youth events when at the same time you may want to be considered an adult. You may want to be respected that way.

I do a lot in my community. And there are times when I’m with people who, you know, knew me when I was younger. And they will always see me as a child no matter what. You know, like your parents. They always see you like a child. No matter how old you get, you’re always going to be the kid.

And so that becomes like the hardest thing for me is trying to get people to take me as a youth leader when I’m in that role, but to also take me as an adult when I’m not in that role. [music]

AS: My boss is ... I don’t even look at him as a boss. It’s like a team setting. They treat me with respect. They look at me in the eye when I talk to them. They acknowledge that I’m a teenager, but they also acknowledge that my voice is important too. It’s weird calling them boss, because they’re more like big brothers and big sisters to me.

You know, even if I mess up. Because they understand that everybody messes up. They guide me in like such a compassionate way where another adult would be like, “See? You know, I’m ... you know, back in my day, I wouldn’t be doing that!” Well, it’s not your day. Times have changed, you know.

The only adults that kind of give me problems are the ones who are closed minded. The ones who are stuck in traditional ways. The ones who can’t accept the fact that we’re teenagers and we have a voice, too. Ones who are scared of us thinking outside of their box. Because we have like a right to, like, say our voice. And we’re just tired of being overlooked, you know.

It’s time, like, in this country that the teenagers are, like, we’re important too. You know, we live here too. You know, you hear, you know, one day, you know, teenagers are going to, you know, start really making an impact. Well, when is that day going to come? That day needs to come tomorrow. It’s I’m tired of waiting, you know. It’s like, yeah. It’s like most adults like, “Oh, look how cute they are marching and holding picket signs. Oh, take a picture here. All right. Give me the camera!” You know? No, we are serious. We don’t want to look cute. We don’t want to make your organization look all goodie-goodie. We want our voice to be heard. And we’re tired of just being overlooked. [music]

BL: Both Swain and Stephanie seem to be poised for success in their respective lives. After graduation, Swain plans to take classes at a community college, then transfer to a 4-year school in Chicago to major in marketing. Stephanie is on track to become a registered counselor in Washington within the year. Their leadership qualities will serve them well as they transition into adulthood and continue to impact their communities.

To find out more about opportunities and programs for youth to become leaders in their own communities, visit our Web site at ncfy.acf.hhs.gov.

Thanks for joining us. And tune in next time when we explore the life-changing relationship between a mentor and a mentee. [music]

(END OF TRANSCRIPT)

Want to hear more?

Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes and be informed immediately when new episodes are released.

<< Back to NCFY Podcast Directory