The role of community in supporting all of our youth

For this week’s episode of Living Untitled, I sat down with Thomas G. Lee , CEO of First Place for Youth, an organization that supports transition-age foster youth on their journey to independence. Thomas has spent most of his career supporting, teaching, mentoring and empowering youth. This lifelong commitment stems from his own recognition of the importance and power of strong adult figures as an influence to help youth grow up to be responsible and engaged citizens.?

When I was in college, I was able to volunteer and teach music and acting to kids as part of an after school community development program. This program, and many like it across the country, was focused on providing a safe space for children to express themselves in ways they couldn’t at home–in whatever environment they called home–for any number of reasons.

?I often look back and think about those kids, some of them I can even remember by name. They were so strong, so resilient on the surface. But once you peeled back the layers of toughness, they so desperately just wanted to be loved and to feel safe–both things I was hopeful I was able to offer them, even if only for the few hours we spent together twice a week.?

Part of looking back on that experience, I always wonder what happened to those kids–certainly in life, but also once they aged out of that program. And for children who never have opportunities like that in the first place, who desperately need as they grow up in unstable environments, how do they build the foundations they need to successfully transition to self-sufficiency and responsible adulthood? What responsibilities do the rest of us in our communities need to take on in order to ensure they don’t get left behind??

According to Thomas, his responsibility, and the responsibility of others at First Place for Youth, is to be a mirror for these children, reflecting back on them the love they deserve to receive for all of the love they have to offer. His compelling perspective on belonging and what it takes to cultivate belonging for youth is just as relevant for every member of society. We all need support, guidance and a full community equipped with access to opportunity at every stage of our lives–but it is absolutely essential that we ensure youth, regardless of the environment of their upbringing, to possess these things for themselves and recognize how to harness these valuable resources.

Reflecting back on my conversation with Thomas, the thing that resonated with me the most was just how fortunate many of us are to have people in our lives who have recognized our potential along our journey. It takes so little effort to see signs of greatness in others and to encourage them to recognize it for themselves, but the impact of that action can change the course of their future for the better.?

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