So...what do you do all day and what is youth work anyway?

There is a need for change in the world of youth development. As depicted in the readings this week, most youth development work is framed around the experiences, lifestyles, and experiences of the average white male. During my high school years, I was part of a CBO in Providence called Youth in Action (YIA); I was a student and later joined their Board of Directors as an Alumni.

I can not stress my growth as a student in this program. It was centered around giving youth a voice, advocating for themselves and their communities, and, most importantly, undoing internalizations and false self-narratives that youth have accepted based on what society has said about them. This was the first point in my life that I saw myself as more than what society said I could be; as a Latina who grew up in the projects in Providence, there wasn't much that was expected of me by teachers and adults in my life at school. With three brothers, my parents moved us out of Brooklyn to keep them out of trouble and find refuge in Providence. Had it not been for CBOs, my brothers and I would have found other things to keep us occupied while our parents were at work, and it may not have been a good outlet.

CBOs are so important in communities, especially those that are underserved. The fact of the matter is this: inner-city and urban youth don't have to look too hard to find trouble in their communities and neighborhoods; trouble is everywhere. It's unfortunate, but it's true. That's another jar of worms that we can unpack later- but organizations like EE were established to change the narrative and how society and youth saw themselves. I loved that EE avoided words like "at risk" and other terms that are so often used when describing students of color and youth from impoverished and urban areas. So frequently, when working with youth, we are categorized as "saviors" and "heroes." Though the work we do as

youth workers is important, the "savior complex" from people that have no clue about their students experience is such a turn off and almost always used as a means to make themselves feel better about helping black and brown youth. It almost felt like we were their project of the week to fix. 

In the reading, they explained that due to the need for federal funding, grants, and donors to fund the work being done in a CBO, the justification for needing money is reduced to numbers instead of the emotional, physical, and social impact it has on the population that they serve. It doesn't matter how many youths are changed, empowered, and end up leaving the CBO transformed and with a new passion ignited, and that sucks. There was a moment when the vision of YIA changed. We had workers leave and move on to new roles and jobs. At that moment, it felt like we were being abandoned, as if they had stopped caring about the mission they had started with. As an adult, I can understand how frustrating it was to beg donors to give them the funding they needed to stay afloat, to keep helping their youth, to keep their doors open, to continue supporting their youth, challenge the systems put in place and prepare them to be in positions of power.

Decolonizing Youth Development: Re-imagining Youthwork for Indigenous Youth Futures by Katie Johnston-Goodstar emphasized how youth development frameworks focus on highlighting and worshipping the white male. I knew that Native and Indigenous people were pushed to succumb to Western ideals and made to forget their roots and cultural ways, but reading about the way that they were described, treated, and abused was disgusting. I felt so much rage seeing how their culture has been forgotten, almost eliminated to highlight Western culture and their "civilized" views. I bring a

better sense of understanding through my personal experience and how CBOs saved me but also allowed me to learn about myself while unlearning ideals forced upon me in schools and my community into our space. Recognizing the importance and impact of youth work and the magnitude of our weight as youth workers to ensure we are fulfilling our roles. Like safe spaces like Crip Camp, we must provide a place of belonging where students' identities are honored and they feel empowered and understood.