The Beat: Native and Rural Youth
Chris Molinelli calls it “a happy accident.” In September, his Middletown, NY, youth shelter, A Friend’s House, received a 3 a.m. call from a young man who needed emergency housing. “He met all our criteria, but we couldn’t get him transportation,” Molinelli says.
Frustrated by that missed opportunity, Molinelli knew there had to be a way to help youth in similar situations. One of his partner organizations helped run a local after-hours hotline for homeless adults and families. Clients only had to dial 211 to access services. Molinelli set out to bring A Friend’s House under the 211 umbrella as a primary resource for homeless youth, and he achieved that goal on April 1.
By following Molinelli's lead and including your program in a local 211 network, you can connect your organization to other social services and make it easier for youth to contact you.
The 411 on 211...
The host home program for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth run by Family and Youth Services Bureau grantee Avenues for Homeless Youth was spotlighted in a recent PBS video, "Feels Like Home: Helping Homeless LGBT Youth."
The Minneapolis, MI, program has placed over 100 youth in temporary homes since it started in the late 1990s. Volunteer host families welcome youth into their homes for an average of 8 months after going through extensive training and background checks. The program has become the prototype for a handful of similar programs around the country.
The video features Program Coordinator Rocki Simões, a host and youth brought together by the program, and Commissioner Bryan Samuels of the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, who speaks about ACYF's...
The latest podcast from NCFY tells the story of Forrest Vest, a formerly homeless teen who got off the streets and started a youth-serving foundation in his hometown on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.
After winning $500 in a local youth scholarship competition, he asked his longtime family friend Debbie Michael to help him put the windfall to good use. The two partners now have a steady stream of donations and media attention, bringing their For Rest Foundation closer to its goal of establishing a shelter for runaway and homeless youth.
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A new report released in October by Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition paints a grim but thorough portrait of the dangers facing Native women involved in prostitution. Based on interviews with 105 prostituted Minnesota women ages 18-60, “Garden of Truth: The Prostitution and Trafficking of Native Women in Minnesota” also explores the relationship between sexual trafficking and women’s earlier experiences of youth homelessness and trauma.
NCFY spoke to Nicole Matthews and Guadalupe Lopez, two of the study’s authors, to learn more about their findings as well as the role that youth workers can play in combating sexual...
With only 2,400 practicing physicians in the United States, Native Americans are among the least-represented minorities in the health care field. Several initiatives are trying to change that. They’re good projects to know about if you work with a Native American young person who’s interested in learning more about a career in health care.
The Patty Iron Cloud National Native American Youth Initiative brings together dozens of Native American and Alaska Native high school students each June in Washington, D.C., to learn about careers in medicine. For nine days, these students discover what life is like in the health care field from federal, private and nonprofit health workers; they find out about applying for federal student aid; and they learn ways to handle college and job interviews. For more information, contact Lucinda Myers, director of health...
“Community, Family, and Peer Influences on Alcohol, Marijuana, and Illicit Drug Use Among a Sample of Native American Youth: An Analysis of Predictive Factors,” Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, Vol. 9, Issue 4, 2010.
What it's about: Researchers investigated whether three theories commonly used to study teen drinking and drug use could be used to study substance use among Native American young people. They tested the theories using data collected from Native American middle-school and high-school students in Montana.
Why read it: The three theories most commonly used to study the connection between social problems and substance use -- social bonding theory, social learning theory and social disorganization theory – have not been tested on non-white youth. This article aims to fill a void by seeing if the theories can explain differences in substance use among Native young people.
Biggest...
Q: I think it's important for my youth-serving organization to be culturally competent in its dealings with all young people. But when it comes to Native youth, I'm not sure where to start.
A: For Tribal and non-Tribal organizations alike, cultural competency is essential to serving young people with respect and dignity. But with 564 Federally recognized Tribes in the United States, each with its own culture and history, building your organization’s ability to work with Native youth can feel overwhelming.
Brighton Ncube, who directs health promotion activities at Riverside-San Bernardino County Indian Health recommends spending time with Tribal leaders to learn about a Tribe’s customs and ways of life. Ask someone to drive you around a reservation, he says. If you’ve never been and you don’t understand what life is like on a reservation, you really can’t plan programs for people who live...
Here are some ways to pay tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans during Native American Heritage Month this November:
- Visit online exhibitions at the National Museum of the American Indian.
- Explore audio and video presentations at the Library of Congress.
- Teach young people about Native American culture.
- Listen to NCFY’s podcast featuring Native youth leaders.
- Listen to NCFY’s podcast featuring Terry Cross, executive director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association.
In its latest podcast, Shared Experiences Help Rural Youth Leaders Connect, NCFY speaks to three youth leaders in rural communities about how they encourage young people to enter transitional living services.
Listen to the podcast.
For information and tips on hiring former clients, read our earlier articles, Inside Track: Former Clients Bring Empathy and Experience to Youth and Family Services Careers and Tips for Promoting the Success of Staff Members Who Are Former Clients.
