April 2008

Youth in Downtown: Negative? Think Again!

Allow me to paint a picture: It is 9pm on a Friday night. You see a group of what you believe to be kids wandering the downtown streetscape. What is the first thought that pops into your mind? Allow me to guess…”They are up to no good.” What we often fail to recognize is that these same individuals that walk our streets may well be walking them a decade down the line to enter their own business in our downtown.

It is a fact that rural American populations are declining partly due to the teen and twenty-something segment that flee to the city to find their ‘place in this world’ upon high school graduation. What are we missing? We are missing the opportunity to show them what there is for them right here. We are missing the opportunity to say “Welcome Back” when they realize that everything they were looking for was right where they grew up, where they call home. By instilling in our youth the principles on which our City was built, a sense of community pride and active civic involvement, immediately our youth have buy-in with their hometown.

Before we can begin to treat our area youth as the future leaders they will become, we must first change our attitudes and misconceptions about them. Unfortunately, many business professionals and community residents generalize that all young people cause problems when in reality there is no single sector of society that is responsible for all ills. In contrast, students play several roles in the community that are often overlooked and are very valuable.

Youth as Volunteers. Young people have a great record of serving as volunteers. Many youth groups and organizations are service based such as 4-H Clubs, Girl/Boy Scouts, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and Future Farmers of America (FFA) to name a few. Whether as a part of a group or as an individual, young adults are able to serve as volunteers for many community projects and often offer an energized approach to difficult tasks.

Youth as Consumers. Many merchants expect young adults to spend money in their businesses, but they often do not make this segment of consumers feel welcome. It is important to keep in mind that youth have their own sources of disposable income through allowances and employment. More importantly, it is children that influence how their parents’ money is spent. Food for thought!

Youth as Our Future. If our community is to grow and prosper, we need to focus our attention on bringing the younger generation back or giving them a reason to stay. In our aging baby-boomer population, we must bridge our community’s generational gap. We must recognize the importance of our youth and make them feel needed, wanted, and important within our community.

We often hear the term Economic Development which refers primarily to bringing outside business into a community. However, another very lucrative process is Economic Gardening which means you cultivate your own businesses, your own entrepreneurs, within your community. Who better knows what a community needs than those who have grown up as a part of it? Anyone who has ever been around a child or teenager knows the passion and creativity that they have inside. It is when we become adults that we somehow lose that ability & intrigue to conquer the world. Instead of dampening that creative spirit, we need to encourage that spirit to grow as a part of an entrepreneurial and innovative community.

I ask of our community – residents, mentors, professionals – that the next time you see an area youth walking the streets of downtown, picture them ten years older, briefcase in hand, unlocking the door to his or her downtown business. A business that was cultivated through community education and encouragement. It begins with a change in perception and ends with a homegrown success story.

To learn more about the Main Street Program, both locally and nationally, visit the following sites: www.mainstreetchillicothemo.com and www.mainstreet.org.