The WATT Youth Summit
Dozens of teens from eighteen local highschools met on Saturday, April 30th, 2005 for a "Youth Summit" sponsored by the Washtenaw Area Teens for Tomorrow (WATT), a new County-wide youth development initiative.
The initia
tive, motivated in part by Washtenaw County Children's Services, has grown over the past year to include a very active Youth Advisory Council of 20 local high school students, and a Steering Committee of 15 elected officials and community leaders representing local business, education, the arts and heealth & human services.
"What do kids need today to become the citizens of tomorrow?" The Youth Summit, planned and organized primarily by young people, was an opportunity to tap into the voice of local youth in Washtenaw County to help answer that challenge. These teens had a lot of ideas and all day - and all ways - to express them. The following is a list of priorities that came from this day-long session. The priorities were part of a package sent on to the WATT Community Forum for discussion and plans for action.
Treat youth as equals
Create a Center for teens in Ypsilanti
Increase funding of safe places – the Community needs to value safe places
Increase the number of safe places – especially in rural areas and in Ypsi’
- Find existing locations and make them safe
- Location is key: within walking distance of residential areas
- Involve youth in creating and designing safe places
Provide outreach to get more diversity in Advanced Placement classes
Provide internships and job shadowing with caring adults
Connect kids to jobs better
- i.e., Washtenaw County ‘Monster.Com’ for teens? Provide more mentors
- For transition from middle to high school
- For getting kids exposed to their career choices
Provide life skills training both in schools and outside of school
Create bus routes from schools to activities
- To bowling, movies, Neutral Zone, recreation centers
- Free with school ID card
Create non-competitive, recreation sports for highschoolers
- Just for fun!
If you'd like to learn more on how WATT is going to make priorities into real action, and how you or your organization might help click on "WATT's Up? Get Connected!"
