Are our youth dying to serve?
By Cindy Yurth
Tséyi Bureau
CHINLE, Aug. 11, 2011
They were sort of two sides to the same coin: a suicide prevention conference in Chinle and a youth leadership conference in Piñon.
It was a lot of the same stuff we've heard before (which is not to diminish it - like exercise and eating your vegetables, there's a lot of good stuff we need to be nagged on now and then). And a few surprises, like yoga at the leadership conference (I guess they want tomorrow's leaders to be flexible).
And then there was this very obvious thing that never occurred to me, and possibly you.
Young people are, perhaps quite literally, dying to be useful.
In the old days, there was no question of the youth's value to their families and communities. They were the sheepherders, the corn grinders, the babysitters, the water fetchers, the free farm labor.
These days, we have child labor laws - which is a good thing, mind you. But perhaps we're so concerned about doing things for our youth that we forget they want to do things for us too.
Two young women, one at the anti-suicide conference and one at the leadership conference, mentioned that they had tried to volunteer in their communities and encountered obstacles.
Shelbylyn Henry, the 2010 Chinle High salutatorian, had approached the local IHS facility and was told they didn't have any volunteer program for teens. Now that she's a college student, she was able to get a summer internship - but she could have been a much more experienced hand by now.
Henry is a self-confident young woman with lots of interests, and when she was turned away, she had other stuff to do. But for a depressive teen trying to find an outlet, a rejection of freely offered service could be devastating.
In her home community of Low Mountain, Jasmine James managed to create her own volunteer opportunities - but a less plucky youngster might have given up.
When she was still in elementary school, James walked into the Whippoorwill Senior Citizens Center and asked if she could work with the elders. There wasn't an app for that, but after she came back with food handler's permit in hand, it was hard for them to turn her away.
Encouraged by her community-minded parents, James went on to found a multi-generational evening sports club in her NHA complex. She later obtained a student worker position with the school district's security office, from which she wormed her way into her real passion: working with children in an after-school program.
James had some good motivation - she liked entering pageants, and community service looked good on the applications. But the more she volunteered, the more confident she felt, and now she's the first to raise her hand when there's a call to pitch in.
Though she's never struggled with depression herself, the 19-year-old thinks being useful might be the antidote to suicide.
"When you're out there working with the kids or the elders, and they're all smiling and happy to see you, you forget whatever's going on at home," she said.
James was lucky to have parents who set an example. Her dad fixes the neighbors' cars when they need it, and her mom marches the family over with rakes and hoes when there's an elder who can no longer keep up her yard.
But what about other teens? How can we draw them into the community?
One answer may be groups like the Northern Diné Youth Committee, who started as a bunch of young friends who just wanted to make Shiprock a better place to live. But we adults need to be willing to reach out without the kids having to yell, "Hey! We're here!"
Workplaces and nonprofits need to dedicate some time and resources for opening up volunteer opportunities to youth. If one approaches with a sincere desire to contribute, we shouldn't turn him or her away just because there's no formal program. Someone on the staff, or a more senior volunteer, needs to make time to mentor him or her - even if it's more trouble, which it often is, to train somebody than to do the work oneself.
But it doesn't even have to be that formal, suggested James.
"If you're going to drop off food to an elder or something like that, invite a young person along," she said. "Some of us are just waiting to be asked."
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