Wednesday, September 12, 2001
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Wednesday, September 12, 2001 |
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Faulkner: CCY youth programs must be kept The decision last week for the Peachtree City Commission on Children and Youth to recommend to City Council that it be disbanded should be a wake-up call for us. They said they felt there was a lack of community interest. And, they were right! No one showed up for the meeting. Not the mayor, no one from City Council, not the city manager, not even political candidates. No one cares? I may not win votes for my campaign to run for City Council by making an issue out of something no one else cares about, but this is important. It affects all of us in one way or another. City Council is charged with protecting the health, safety and welfare of its citizens. Twenty-five percent of our population is under the age of 18 and their health, safety and welfare are at risk on a daily basis. Let's encourage council to keep the CCY active and reevaluate our mission as it pertains to families and youth. But, we can't blame the CCY volunteers for being frustrated. Imagine how you would feel if you volunteered to serve on the CCY. I'm sure you'd be eager to implement your plans and ideas. Then imagine your frustration when you face six degrees of separation in trying to communicate with the council to get anything done. The city manager, in no uncertain terms, stated that CCY volunteers were not to contact his office directly, but to communicate through the CCY coordinator. The CCY coordinator reports to the leisure programs manager, who reports to recreation administrator, who reports to the director of leisure services, who reports to the city manager, who reports to the City Council. Official communication to the council must be typed, edited and proofed by these individuals before it is provided to council one week prior to their meeting. That's not exactly what I would call and open flow of communication. It's no wonder they were ineffective and felt no sense of direction! Why is the CCY buried in the recreation department in the first place? The CCY was originally appointed to address the problems faced by youth in our community. Drug and alcohol abuse, promiscuity, teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, suicide, child abuse, etc., are not exactly recreational activities. I'm glad to see the city is dedicating space in the proposed community center for teen uses and programming, but let's not continue to make the same mistakes. Recreational programs and a community center are not going to solve the problems for our youth. Truthfully, nothing will as long as we continue to ignore reality and stifle communication. We need good planning. Working parents need programs aimed at providing supervision for teens after school and during the summer. But more than anything, we need a sense of direction, community support, and a firm commitment by our leaders to put our families first. Peachtree City is a wonderful place to raise young children or retire. It is a terrible place to raise teenagers. I grew up here. I've seen it all. I was at school the day a boy shot and killed himself in the bathroom at McIntosh High School. After a week or so, no one ever talked about it again. As a teen, I went to parties in Peachtree City, where I saw every drug imaginable. Worse than that, parties were supervised by liberal parents with the attitude that its better to know the kids are safe at home drinking and getting high than out driving around and getting arrested by PTC's finest. As an employee of the City, I received calls from angry parents who complained about the police "harassing" their children. They never thought their kids might actually have been doing something wrong. The problems our youth face every day are not unique to Peachtree City. But, Peachtree City does provide a unique spin on things. Many kids in Peachtree City have disposable income, easy access to each other via cartpaths and preoccupied parents with an image to maintain. The Fayette Family Alliance Coordinating Teamwork, Outreach and Resources (FACTOR) is a countywide coalition of agencies serving local families. They are new and have yet to prove themselves. But, before the city washes its hands of its responsibility to our youth by eliminating the CCY, we should consider being actively involved with this group. It would be nice if a member of City Council would volunteer to serve on a committee and to ensure that we don't lose sight of our community responsibilities. Now more than ever, it does take an entire village to raise a child. (Village idiots need not apply.) I'm glad to hear that the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) will continue, but in all honesty unless the council encourages a better flow of communication and provides clear direction, the program is nothing but lip service. The CCY coordinator was quoted as saying the YAB was the "voice of youth that must be represented in city policy and recreation programs." Good luck! It is the City Council that sets city policy, not the administration, and I'm willing to bet the YAB will have no more opportunity to communicate with council than the CCY unless we elect a few more people into office who encourage open and productive communication. Nancy Faillo Faulkner Peachtree City nfau@bellsouth.net [Faulkner is an announced candidate for Peachtree City Council. The Citizen welcomes letters from candidates for all local offices and from citizens commenting on the candidates and issues raised. We will print the letters from candidates and a representative sampling of others subject to standard editing practices for length and conformity to libel laws, until the week before the election.]
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