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THINKING PREVENTION The power of prevention, the power of one The task before me appears daunting. As the new prevention services coordinator for Bedford Youth and Family Services, my charge is to reduce the incidence of high risk behaviors among the young people of Bedford through effective programming. A prevention specialist will digest a broad landscape of data, assess the capacity for change and respond to the community with strategies that steer kids from violence, substance use and other problem areas. A prevention specialist can feel like the community meta-parent and on some days I do. The view from my window at Bedford High School is a peaceful autumn schoolyard, but I will need to remain focused on more grim realities — like news of a Columbine-inspired plot to blow up a Boston-area high school and the stark statistics of drug and alcohol experimentation of Bedford youth. According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey administered in 2002, 15 percent of our high school students are current smokers of marijuana and 40 percent are regular users of alcohol. While Bedford is not faced with gang activity and street corner assaults, 15 percent of our eighth-graders had carried a weapon with them to school within 30 days of being surveyed and 18 percent had been in a physical fight. In the hallway behind me, students clamor enthusiastically around friends and lockers, their spirits high in preparation for the weekend ahead. But I know the high energy belies the weight under which they strain — the high expectations of MCAS and college boards, sleep deprivation, stress and anxiety. It may not be surprising that 71 percent of Bedford high school students feel stressed, but it is more alarming that in 2002, 12 percent had considered suicide and 5 percent actually attempted it. These young people prepare to compete in a world that offers no guarantees for love, work or security. And while each generation must learn to navigate the unique challenges of their era, this generation travels at high-speed along a complex and media-driven highway of choices that include club drugs, designer drinks and highly-stylized aggression. When times get tough, rather than rely on the wisdom of parents, teachers or siblings, these kids will turn to their peers instead. So what can I do to help them? As a seasoned public health worker, I know to turn to the science-based prevention strategies. I have witnessed the power of communities to apply these successful formulas and stay ahead of frightening trends like eating disorders, inhalant use, oxycontin and bullying. I believe in the capacity of concerned, organized citizens to draft policies and design effective programs that make a difference. And like my colleagues, I pledge oath to the mantra, It takes a Village to Raise a Child. But, on occasion, battle fatigue sets in. Outcomes-based community planning can be a long journey at snail's pace. We digest the data. We brandish our diagnostic tools. We meet again and again and then, voila, we emerge with a program that might mean life or death to the body, mind or spirit of our children. The real impact of our labor might remain unknown for years to come. This is the reality of prevention programming (not unlike the reality of parenting, it seems to me.) On days when I feel as though we've thrown our best time and energy at the problems and still they remain unsolved, I have learned to step back, to simplify. On those days, I remind myself that perhaps part of the solution lies not only in the power of the many, but also, in the power of one - the power of one person to impact the life of a young person. This is very like the power of mentoring. Mentoring is the process of partnering a competent, caring adult with a young person to function as a role model, listener and friend. Mentors offer support and reinforcement in a world that often feels complex and unsafe to kids. And as a prevention strategy, mentoring works. Research tells us that the single most protective factor in fostering resiliency in children is a vital, caring relationship with an adult especially in cases where children are particularly at risk. While a positive relationship with a parent is critical to keeping kids on the right track, other adults can provide vital support especially where a parent is unable, unwilling or partially unavailable to fulfill this role. Even among mainstream students who fall outside of high-risk categories, the single most protective factor across all health outcomes is a sense of connection to parents and family, according to a recent National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The nation's oldest and largest mentoring program, Big Brother Big Sister, has created a highly structured, highly successful mentoring model that matches adults with 7- to 17-year-olds, many from single parent families. In their words, “with so many negative influences pressing on today's kids, having a positive role model is an important factor in how children fare in life, now and in the future. By providing children with caring adult role models and mentors, the program helps kids find their way in an increasingly complex world.” The typical mentoring relationship involves two to four unstructured meetings a month engaging in activities as simple as eating ice cream or as involved as assisting with school projects. Independent research has shown that Big Brother Big Sister programs have an important impact on the youth they serve. Mentored youth were 46 percent less likely to engage in drug use, 27 percent less likely to initiate alcohol use and 33 percent less likely to act out violently than at-risk youth without mentoring. These kids also demonstrated more positive attitudes towards school and better grades, as well as have much higher levels of self-esteem. Peter Benson, founder of the Search Institute, draws similar conclusions about the importance of adult relationships in the lives of children and the importance of youth being known over time by people to whom they are not biologically related. In their list of 40 assets that contribute to youth development, the Search Institute cites “other adult relationships” as number three on the list stating specifically “a young person receives support from three or more non-parent adults” as criterion for positive growth. Mentoring opportunities also exist closer to home. In Bedford, the Council on Aging sponsors Angels without Wings, a volunteer program that recruits elders to partner with youth of all ages in a variety of service capacities. The PALS program, for instance, offers opportunities to assist young people with developmental disabilities in social and recreational activities. Other programs pair adults with middle school students to help in academic preparation for the MCAS, a particularly stress-ridden test for many. I invite you take a look at the young people in your life and consider ways in which you might build a bridge. November is Substance Abuse Awareness Month in the town of Bedford. It is an opportunity to educate ourselves on the effects of drugs and alcohol across the range of ages in our community. It is also an opportunity to note that we, personally, might contribute in a small way to help young people make wise choices that do not include substance use and violent behavior. Seeing ourselves as mentors or in supporting mentorship programs can help extend the safety net that community prevention works hard to create.
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