What is Generations Together?
How do you jump-start a community initiative? How do you revive an asset-building community that has been around for several years? Generations Together: Your Vision & Plan for an Asset-Rich Community is a planning event offered by Search Institute Training & Speaking that can help get your initiative up and running or reignite the spark of your current community initiative. Generations Together’s purpose is “to create a vision and a plan for building an asset-rich community where all young people are valued and thrive.” The event brings together five generations of community leaders and residents in a retreat where they highlight their community’s current asset-building achievements and create an action plan for future youth development work. This month’s Asset Champion is dedicated to the stories of individuals and communities who have participated in this planning event, what they learned, and where they are today on the path to becoming asset-rich communities.
Bringing Generations Together: Search Institute’s Shelby Andress
Shelby Andress has had an impressive career. The Adjunct Senior Consultant and Facilitator has lead upwards of 500 trainings and planning events, conducted numerous research projects, and co-authored several publications. Yet, for Andress, gathering communities for Generations Together has created many lasting memories.
Bridging the Generation Gap: Charlotte County, Florida
The community of Charlotte County, Florida, has experienced a difficult last five years. On August 13, 2004, the area was devastated by hurricane Charley—buildings were severely damaged, businesses destroyed, and homes lost. The extent of the storm’s destruction included six schools that were beyond repair, making Charley the largest catastrophe to hit a school district until Hurricane Katrina. The community spent the next several years rebuilding their lives and, due to the construction boom in the county, began to see economic recovery as well. Yet, when a financial crisis ravaged the country last year, Charlotte County fell on troubled times once again. Many of the young families that were involved in the construction trades began moving away and those that stayed had trouble finding work. As Children’s Services Council and school board member Sue Sifrit describes, “It’s a very difficult economic time right now. There are a lot of businesses that are closing and those that aren’t are just scrambling and doing everything they can to keep in the black.”
From Crisis to Community: Paradise, California
Paradise, California, is a beautiful community situated in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Surrounded by soaring pine trees and the breathtaking Butte Creek Canyon, the small Northern California city appears to be exactly as advertised—paradise. Yet, this idyllic setting could not hide the issues facing the community in the early 2000s. The town was dealing with a drug problem beyond anything they had ever experienced due to widespread illicit use of the prescription pain medication Oxycontin. Teachers, parents, and community members were at a loss; they had never dealt with anything like this before. The crisis hit its peak when, during the 2003-2004 school year, the 25,000-person community lost four students to overdose and suicide. The town knew something had to be done.
