Advisory council to eye youths’ needs

·         By NATALIE EASTWOOD Herald Staff Writer and Eric Poole Herald Assistant Editor | News

·         Dec 17, 2017

— It’s a Catch-22.

One of the most daunting issues facing at-risk young people in Mercer County is the need for jobs and transportation, said Summer Knapp, executive director of the newly formed Youth Social Service Advisory Committee.

The problem is, Knapp said, if a teenager doesn’t have transportation, he or she will have a difficult time getting a job. Without a job, and the paycheck that goes along with it, transportation is often out of reach.

“A lot of these kids, they think, ‘I have to learn how to get a job and be an adult, but I have no way to get to the job,’” Knapp said.

The advisory committee, which held its first meeting last month, is working out a way to overcome that conundrum. Representatives from more than 10 groups, including Mercer County Children and Youth Services, Mercer County Communities that Care, Catholic Charities and Prince of Peace, attended that first meeting, and Knapp expects more organizations to join up.

Knapp said the committee will meet once a quarter, with the next session to be held in February. Initially, the group will discuss the needs of young people either affected by poverty or in the juvenile probation system.

In addition to transportation, necessary in rural areas like much of Mercer County to reach jobs, Knapp said one significant deficiency is a lack of mentors.

“A lot of these kids are in the system or transitioning out of the system, and they have no one as a positive influence,” Knapp said.

In the committee’s second phase, she said the agencies will work on plans to address those needs. The third phase will be for the groups to band together and to get help through federal and state funding so they can implement the plans.

With the agencies all communicating with one another, Knapp said they will all be pulling in the same direction, which will increase their ability to gain state and federal support.

Another advantage to the interagency communication is the elimination of duplicate efforts.

Thomas Hawkins, treasurer for MCJAC, said the committee will offer greater opportunities for cooperation and efficiency among agencies.

“We’re taking not a new tactic completely, but a new strategy on how to work together,” Hawkins said

Hawkins cited the county’s opioid epidemic and said that the community needs to ask what is wrong in peoples’ lives that would cause them to turn to drugs.

Many agencies are so focused on fixing current problems that they don’t try to find the root causes, he said. The committee wants to take preventative measures by collaborating with different agencies such as the school system, legislative bodies, social services and anyone trying to help at-risk youths.

It’s more effective to work together, Hawkins said, because all of the agencies are trying to help kids.

“You have to be stronger,” he said. “It’s like a team. The team members practice together. They don’t practice in separate rooms and then go out and try to play the game. And we’re trying to win the game.”

Follow Natalie Eastwood on Facebook or on Twitter at @natalie_herald. Email her at neastwood@sharonherald.com.