Youth as Change Agents in Distressed Immigrant Communities

• NCJ Number: 216858
• Journal: Community Youth Development Journal Dated: Fall 2005 Pages: 19-28
• Author(s): Lyndee Knox Ph.D.; America Bracho MPH; Ginger Hahn MPH; Christina Jose Kampfner Ph.D.; Jazmin Sanchez; Moises Vasques; Priscilla Monserrate Sanders MPH
• Date Published: 2005
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes the Latino Health Access’s (LHA’s) Children and Youth Initiative, which uses youth promotores to intervene in community problems.

Abstract

In 1995, the LHA used funding from the California Wellness Foundation to implement the Children and Youth Initiative. The goal of the initiative was to improve child and adolescent well-being and reduce the numerous risk factors faced by immigrant families in Santa Ana, CA. The program was based on Freire’s model of reflective action, which trains local “youth promotores” to intervene in neighborhood problems using the hope-energy-action model. The program began by recruiting and training 12 high-risk youth to work as youth promotores within their communities. Training focused on leadership, needs and resource assessment, data collection and analysis, problem solving, and communication skills. Once trained, youth promotores were paired with adult promotores to work on neighborhood problems. The hope-energy-action model taught the youth promotores to listen for emerging themes in their communities, such as alcohol abuse problems. Once a problem was identified, youth promotores gathered data about the problem and energized their neighbors to take action. Summary evaluation results are presented that attest to the success of the program in mobilizing community participation in risk reduction projects. In closing, 10 principles are presented that LHA believes were critical to their success: (1) offer a mechanism to enhance participation; (2) build on the skills of community members; (3) model agency management and intervention methods; (4) teach the benefits of reciprocity; (5) understand the value of compensation versus volunteerism; (6) view youth programs in the context of broader intervention efforts; (7) allow youth to be in charge; (8) ensure long-term participation; (9) realize that funding the program is a long-term commitment; and (10) help low-income communities move from learned helplessness to hope and action. References