MERIDIAN —     I was recently asked to serve as a facilitator with the Mississippi State Southern Rural Development Center to discuss how to Turn the Tide on Poverty; Creating Vibrant Communities Together.

    I find this opportunity challenging considering the level of poverty that exists here in my hometown of Meridian. The first question that came to my mind was, why do we have poverty?

    Here are some of the views about why poverty exists. (1) Poor Education/Poor Schools (2) Not enough jobs or only low wage Jobs (3) Racism (4) Greed and Selfishness (5) Bad Public Policy  (6) People don’t take Responsibility (7) The “Haves” and the “Have Nots” (8) Growing number of Single Parent Families (9) Lack of Support Network (10) Bad Things can Happen.

    The one thing I can agree with here in the City of Meridian is Poverty + Poverty = Poverty.  The factors afore mentioned are contributors to this equation, resulting into the total reality our community is poverty-stricken!

    As for our community-based programs established through our City Parks and Recreation Division and the Meridian Housing Authority, the question has to be asked is, “Why aren’t their more youth programs being offered to youth who live in our Public Housing dwelling?”

    All adolescents, in all economic and social circumstances, need generous amounts of help, instruction, discipline, support, and caring as they make their way from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood.

    Such assistance comes from many sources: solid families, good schools, supportive and safe neighborhoods, and a surrounding culture that emphasizes constructive lives and respectful relationships.

    Community programs for youth, found in many neighborhoods in America, provide these sources of support. They exist in many forms: special clubs and service programs, sports leagues, community service organizations, faith-based youth groups, academic enrichment programs, music lessons, and many others. They are identified by a vast array of terms — after-school programs, youth clubs, youth development programs, or programs during non-school hours or out-of-school time.

    Many such groups have been around for decades. They range from well-known national organizations with long histories — for example, Little League, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Campfire U.S.A., YMCAs and YWCAs, and 4-H Clubs — to countless other smaller groups and organizations.

    Somehow the powers-to-be will say we have all these services; resulting in minimal effectiveness, witnessed by the community behavior being exemplified by our youth in our neighborhoods and schools.  Something is missing!

    Programs are usually based in existing youth centers and rely on participation of diverse public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private employers focused on employment and training, education, housing, law enforcement, social services, and community development (U.S. Department of Labor, 20001.)

    As I dwelled more into this area, I began to notice the strategic planning of programs that do exist here in the city.  The Public Policy that allowed the current youth programs, which do exist were strategically placed in community areas where only those who are financially able and have good transportation can participate. The cost factors involved would automatically eliminate the participating of many youth coming from poor and impoverished backgrounds.

    Adolescence is the pivotal period between childhood and adulthood. It is the time when youth need to acquire the attitudes, competencies, values, and social skills that will carry them forward to successful adulthood. It is also the time when they need to avoid choices and behaviors that will limit their future potential.

    Parents and families play a crucial role in helping young people navigate this phase. In the past, schools, neighborhoods, and communities extended and enhanced positive development and supported young people. Indeed, an enduring image of American life is the participation of neighbors and community members watching out for children, taking responsibility for their safety and well-being, and helping to steer them in the right direction.

    In recent decades, a number of social forces have changed both the landscape of family and community life and the expectations for young people. A combination of factors have weakened the informal community support once available to young people: high rates of family mobility; greater anonymity in neighborhoods, where more parents are at work and out of the home and neighborhood for long periods, and in schools, which have become larger and much more heterogeneous.

    Meridian is no different! What we are seeing here are the masses of our youth being left alone to plighted communities (some structures have been upgraded through our recent Hope VI grants) and negative social activities influencing youth behavior which always eventually spill over into our school; primarily because the attitude and activities being exhibited by our youth in our schools are a reflection of our communities, all due to the limited amount of opportunities we don’t provide through Youth Development Programs needed for our most At-Risk Youth!

    The City of Meridian, specifically the Parks & Recreation Division working closely with the Meridian Housing Authority, Meridian Public Schools, and other community agencies where area youth facilities exist, needs to reevaluate its commitment to the communities when it comes to providing taxpayers a better level of Youth Service Programs desperately needed to help nurture our youth from adolescence to adulthood.

    All the studies relating to how poverty affect our youth points toward our lack of neighborhood youth services and programs rendered. Programs needed to develop our children from where they are, to where we should want them to be!

    The lack of these services and programs put a tremendous stain on our teachers; many of them who teach here in the Meridian City Schools System have never dealt with or lived in poverty, trying to have a social effect change on youth who are influenced negatively daily, all due to real poverty issues which exist in their neighborhoods.

    We thought with this new Administration in city government, we would see a total commitment of community unity addressing the pressing issues affecting our communities and schools. Unfortunately, it appears the same old rhetoric attitudes exist.

    The communities are left to suffer.  The focus has shifted to our economy and the schools refused to do something different, in order to get a different result.  Where did we go wrong? I thought the children were our future! If we don’t bring them along in a wholesome fashion, we limit our future growth.

    Youth programs do that for a community. Education becomes easier, workforce development becomes more feasible, and the community leadership takes on a more meaningful task, considering we are shifting the paradigm thinking of people who currently see themselves in poverty, but can foresee a direction toward changing their circumstances for a better future eliminating poverty.

    As a facilitator with this organization to help turn the tide on poverty, it will be my job to help pull together community people from all walks of life; Black, and white, rich and poor, old and young to sit down periodically to come up with solutions as to how we can create a more vibrant community.

    As an educator by trade, my focus has always been on our youth, therefore my passion centers around this one area I have expertise experience in. If anyone is interested in working in around the Velma Young Magnolia Community, feel free to contact me at rljinc@hotmail.com , or (601) 938-7233.

 

Rev. Randle L. Jennings    

 Meridian