As someone who has lived in multiple Chicago neighborhoods, I view our city as a blessing and a curse. Chicago offers a wealth of cultures, creative outlets and resources. The Chicago Public Library’s West Pullman branch on 119th Street, which I used to visit after school with my mother and brother, brought me closer to my community. It provided access to a space that allowed me to spend time with my family in my neighborhood.
Despite these warm memories of afternoons at the library, my access was limited to many of the city’s blessings, such as mentorship programs specific for young girls or mental health services.
Missing out on such key resources deprives my friends and me of opportunities to have fun in our neighborhood. This reality is not unique to my experience as a Black girl who has lived on the South and West sides. The lack of community resources persists throughout Chicago, particularly in neighborhoods in these parts of the city, leaving youths seeking forms of social engagement outside their communities.
We can increase the number of youths who get to experience the blessings that Chicago has to offer. To do so, we need to expand youth mental health services and multiply community centers such as the Phalanx Family Services and youth programs such as GRIP Outreach For Youth (SLAM) and Voices of Youth in Chicago Education (VOYCE).
Youths want and need a place to meet and socialize with each other in a safe environment. Without places such as youth-friendly community centers, we are left with no choice but to seek recreation elsewhere. As a result, youth “trends,” or what many refer to as “teen gatherings,” create an environment that invites a sense of freedom, fun and safety, allowing young people to connect with their peers and escape their difficult realities. These trends are simply a response to the lack of resources. We are not trying to spark social disruption. We are trying to build community given the limited resources we have access to.
Although many teenagers suffer from mental health battles, adults often do not understand what is happening and the potential consequences of ignoring these wellness issues. Thus we are forced to seek mental health remedies ourselves through the youth trends.
Youth trends are not the problem. The problem is that we youths have to create our own experiences for healing and engagement because we don’t have such resources in our communities. As long as youths are in search of community and healing resources, we will continue to participate in youth trends because they provide the social interactions we yearn for and need.
If the city wants to ease youth trends, it must invest in mental health resources and programs that promote youth wellness, such as the Healing Through Justice model. It focuses on youth leadership and our ability to address inequity and mental health challenges.
As a Communities United youth leader, it is clear to me that having access to mentors, leadership development opportunities and youth social spaces can make a difference. At last year’s A Gathering of Communities: Strategizing for a Healing-Centered City conference, young people were able to reclaim their narrative by engaging with adults and community organizations to strategize for a future rooted in wellness and social justice.
Our age should not determine if we are worthy of receiving attention and mental health resources. The pain I experienced, after adults shut me down in my efforts to express myself, affects me to this day. We are tired of being emotionally neglected — the pain and suffering that youths experience matter too.
With the dawning of the new year, we must say yes to investing in our young people and under-resourced communities. By doing so, we say yes to a better future, a better society and a better world.
Lakaya Knight is a youth leader for Communities United, a survivor-led, intergenerational racial justice organization in Chicago developing grassroots leadership.
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