Today when you look through a newspaper, listen to the radio, or watch TV, what is often seen is a popularizaton of problems in our society. From a youth standpoint, these problems range from child abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, teen suicide, and economically and educationally disadvantaged children. Everyone agrees that these problems are real but solving them goes far beyond hotlines, task forces, and media attention. The millions of children growing up today have the possibility of encountering these problems.
We must not become a society that neglects these problems until the children become victims. It is imperative that we focus our energies in a preventative direction not just a crisis intervention, if not our society will face problems of such magnitude that they will become impossible to solve.
The solution starts by caring what direction our children will take. They need guidance, a sense of importance, a realization that they make a difference and most of all, our love and example. They need our compassion, understanding, and discipline now not when it's too late. We seem to be caught up in cliches such as quality of life programming, children at risk, the disadvantaged child and others. These are nothing more than ambiguities that attract attention as news headlines.
All children are dependent on the leadership of the adults who care for them. We mold them into the adults they become. Please don't ignore our youth until they run into problems. Their future is in our hands, our future depends on them.
"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove....But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."
615 Main Street West Springfield, Ma 01089 Tel. (413)736-1831 Fax. (413)731-8339
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