TIPS For Working with Youth in Community Development Projects

Starting Out - Helpful Information for Project Development

Both youth and adults should be involved early so that they can learn by going through the stages of group development together. Adults should never meet first without youth present to set the terms of reference and/or parameters of the project.

Long distances between group members or project sites can make starting a solid project difficult. The project goals and methods of reaching those goals will have to change to take these distances into consideration.

Prior to initiating projects, a thorough community analysis should take place, including an assessment of the issues and inventory of existing resources and commitment levels (particularly among the youth - i.e., they have to see the issues as important).

Community change is more likely to happen when that change is supported by policy at the federal, provincial/ territorial and community levels.

Policy makers should be aware of how important it is to projects that the contributions made by youth are respected.

The chance of project success is better when the partners in the community development process agree on values. This includes knowing the issues, agreeing on the importance of youth issues, having a good mix of people in the project, and being able to agree on important decisions.

Projects should be aware that group members will come and go and that turnover among youth participants will be particularly high. In small communities, this turnover probably will not happen as often. In large communities, continuity can be kept by regular recruitment, orientation and training activities.

Projects in which youth and service providers are trying to have an impact on the service system stand a greater chance of success where:

• there is some community history of cooperation between agencies,
• the system has dealt with difficult and complex issues,
• the system has cooperated in communications, planning, case information-sharing, referrals, etc.,
• citizens participate in system decisions,
• government and other key players are involved in system decisions,
• there is leadership development within the group,
• there is a history of youth being involved in policy and decision making,
• there is interest in becoming involved in the existing youth-based project,
• the system has decision and policy makers who are "champions" of the changes suggested, and
• the service system decision makers are involved in the planning body.

When there is no history of the service system working together, the success of a youth/service provider partnership is greater in single agencies than in larger systems. For the best chance of success, the partnership should work in those agencies most willing to work with youth in the change process.

If the sponsor agency and agency members of the steering committee are respected in the community and the human service field, the project has a better chance of success.

The project will be more successful if there is a strong "champion" working on behalf of the group to meet its goals. The champion's role is even stronger if that person is both a respected insider and a key decision maker. The champion uses his or her influence to get youth issues on the community's agenda and persuade other service providers and community leaders that youth issues are important.

The support of respected community leaders is key to the success of a youth-based community development effort. Since youth themselves would have difficulty getting this support, it becomes an important role of the champion, sponsor or other adults involved with the project.

Project objectives in a youth project will have more success if they focus on practical and recognizable solutions which are defined by the people involved rather than by someone on the outside.

The project will probably be more successful if it focuses on something that the community already sees as an important issue. When this is not the case, the group should try to increase public awareness of the issues. The group should spend time at the beginning of the project to develop a communication strategy to get the issue on the community agenda.

Projects which address health promotion strategies are more likely to achieve success in communities that are already practising healthy lifestyles. Risk reduction strategies are more acceptable in communities where risk conditions are seen as being prevalent in the youth population.

The project and its organizing committee will have more credibility with youth when:

• the project has good leadership from youth members,
• there is an active group of youth in the project,
• there is participation from agencies which have credibility with youth, and
• people think there is a chance for the project to succeed.

Community development efforts will be more successful when local specialists provide services to the project and local people contribute resources to the project.

The chance of success for the community development effort is better when the project tries to involve the community in planning, identifying needs, setting priorities and putting the project into action.

Projects which are trying to make changes in the service system should try to create or strengthen existing, self-run, local institutions, rather than depend on outside resources.