Youth Community Development Team Committee Report

School buses rolled into the Harrisburg Regional Chamber of Commerce/CREDC parking area on a bright Veteran’s Day, unloading students prepared to discuss leadership in key community impact areas.  A quick round of introductions by Karen Snider, YCDT Chair and team building exercises lead by Wendell Murray, founder of BARAK Inc. raised awareness of the shared history and interests that individuals have in common in a diverse community.

Una Martone, President of Leadership Harrisburg Area engaged the students in presentation and discussion on the critical community areas which the young leaders identified at their last session.  Each youth leadership team had researched and prepared information on the issues.  The first group shared shocking statistics on violence affecting youth and family in Harrisburg – from street violence to dating violence – identifying the Harrisburg area as one of the most violence areas in the Commonwealth.  The second presentation focused on health issues with concerns presented on youth knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) and teen mother issues.  The third youth team provided information on low school success rates in Harrisburg and the need for supportive programs to encourage students to seek additional education after high school. 

Guests from community organizations listened to the student research and shared information about their work on the critical issues.  Robin Williams of the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg provided dating and domestic violence prevention resources. Rowland Harrison of the YMCA Black Achievers Program shared information about college planning and tour resources and Teri Mickle of Harrisburg University talked about financial assistance and the benefits of technical education in the job market.   Each presentation generated frank discussion and questions from youth leaders about the cost of these resources and the scope of the services available. 

Students expressed concern about limitations of shelters programs in the community and violence prevention strategies – from neighborhood safety to gun violence to domestic violence or violence against teens.  Again, a young leader shared frustrations of gun violence affecting youth and neighborhoods they call home, citing the recent shooting of a 13 year old in Harrisburg. The availability of services for youth affected by domestic violence and the limits of short term housing for families was also raised as a critical challenge. 

The YCDT students expressed concern about health knowledge and misinformed youth because of the lack of information available on preventing STD’s and pregnancy.  A discussion on the need to provide skills in decision making and the confidence to make choices and say “no” indicated that students felt youth are faced with personal challenges they are not prepared to address.  A passionate dialogue on raising awareness and identification of resources for teens included education on prevention and helping teen moms manage to succeed.

Success in school and advanced education was identified as a core to addressing issues affecting the community – particularly at risk students. Questions raised included the availability of information on college opportunities and financial resources to explore college or technical school.  The young leaders reacted to the reality of the costs just to explore college options and discussed the challenges of staying in college once there.  They also shared their personal experiences on the benefits of college prep programs and tours with a student commenting that “once you see student’s like yourself at a college, you can see yourself in that circumstance.”

With time running low after sharing of information and serious discussion on critical issues affecting teens, the group narrowed the scope of their community impact target to a higher education initiative for the Harrisburg area for 8th-12th graders, with resources that not only included access to post high school education, but also retention strategies to allow students to complete their advanced education.  Each student team left with assignments to prepare sections of a funding proposal presentation for potential donors for a project to have community impact.

As the day ended, students gathered their “Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens” books and were asked to incorporate the goal setting, planning and expectations strategies into their focus on affecting positive behaviors in their personal lives and the community.  Beginning with the end in mind and putting first things first are life strategies that these young leaders bring in their passion for making a difference.  

Another morning filled with serious discussion on issues affecting our youth and their passionate commitment to leading change, left the adults supporting the YCDT class in awe of the courage and confidence needed for young leaders to face the challenges at home, school and in the community.  The next class will be held on December 9, 2008 from 9:00 to 11:00AM in the conference room at the Harrisburg Regional Chamber of Commerce.  For more information about how you can be involved or if you are interested in seeing a presentation by students on the funding needs for their project, please contact Karen Snider, Chair at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .