Youth and Adults Discuss Regional Survey Results

by | Jul 5, 2018 | Community Partners, Events

On May 23rd in the Amesbury Senior Center, a brave and well-spoken group of local youth presented the regional results of the Attitudes and Behavior survey, which 3,660 students took last fall. These students represented four school districts, Amesbury, Georgetown, Newburyport and Triton. This was the third Community Call to Action meeting, following presentations in Georgetown and Triton. This Community Call to Action  helped attendees understand positive youth development and learn about the 40 Developmental Assets in context of their own community looking at data from their own youth. Research has shown, the more assets a child has, the less likely a child is to get involved in high-risk behaviors. This presentation demonstrated this finding with local data and encouraged conversations between adults and youth on how we can partner together to create more opportunities and supports for youth.

A diverse group of community members attended including parents, business owners, teachers, and those working in law enforcement, youth-serving organizations, health care and local government. This wide range of perspectives fostered intriguing discussions between adults and youth about how the Amesbury community can best promote youth assets.

The survey revealed that the average youth in the region possessed 21-30 assets. The ECAB Network strives to see the majority of youth in the region acquire over 20 assets, lessening the likelihood that they will become involved in high-risk behaviors. Youth highlighted favorable statistics such as 84% of youth in the region feel that they have positive family support. They also touched upon interesting gender differences in certain assets and the change in the number of assets that students possess from 6th to 12th grade.

The meeting adjourned with community members brainstorming ways to continue to be asset builders and think of new ideas to promote youth in their communities. This Community Call to Action advocated for the philosophy that all community members have the power to promote youth assets. This positive youth development approach flips the traditional prevention approach that identifies “at risk” youth and focuses on supporting them; instead, this approach focuses on promoting all youth, because all youth could be at risk. If you’re interested in viewing the data from the Attitudes and Behavior survey, it will be posted on the school website shortly. If you want to get involved as a youth asset builder, you could receive newsletters, attend upcoming meetings or become a CHAMPION for the Asset Builder Network. If you want to learn more, please contact Tina Los at 978-992-1671 or tlos@ecabnetwork.org.

 

 

 

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About Us The Essex County Asset Builder (ECAB) Network creates regional connections and supports for individuals, families and organizations from Amesbury, Georgetown, Newbury, Rowley, Salisbury and Newburyport, in using a positive youth development approach to help youth thrive. Positive Youth Development Being a part of the ECAB Network brings local and regional opportunities.  Locally, communities have access to trainings, data, and best practices, and receive guidance on implementation and outreach strategies that build positive youth development possibilities.  Communities also get the benefit of regionalizing efforts, where networking, combining resources, current policies, and a shared vision strengthen the towns and cities as well as the region. History Recently, the communities of Amesbury, Georgetown, Newbury, Rowley, Salisbury and Newburyport came together to form the Essex County Asset Builder Network.  Funded by a three year grant, the goal of this Network is to create a common language of asset- based youth development (creating protective factors). It has been shown that youth who have more assets are less likely to engage in risky behaviors.  This grant will use the 40 Developmental Assets framework to build these protective factors and reduce risk behaviors by focusing on both the youth and the environment that shapes them. The community partnership will enhance the great work already being done to support youth and families, as well as expand community supports, opportunities, and resources. Additionally, the grant will collect and disseminate regional data, coordinate shared resources and bring educational opportunities for various sectors of the community. Goal To spread the philosophy and practice of the positive youth development approach through implementation of 40 Developmental Asset framework within communities across the region. We will accomplish this goal by: Mission To use a positive youth development approach to build networks within each community and across the region that help decrease risk behaviors in youth and produce a healthier community. Vision A network of communities that welcome, value and empower youth through meaningful opportunities and collaborative efforts to support and strengthen youth assets and increase healthy decision making.