Healthy Communities • Healthy Youth
A Positive Vision for All Young People
At a time when many people feel overwhelmed by the problems and challenges
facing children and adolescents, communities across North America are discovering
new energy in working together toward a positive vision for young people.
Instead of focusing only on reducing risks and intervening in problems, these
communities are rallying to rebuild the foundation that all young people
need — a foundation that has crumbled for far too many young people in our
society.
Uniting a community to nurture the positive development of youth is much
like playing in a jazz ensemble. Each musician must know the tune and listen
to the other ensemble members; all players must improvise together — sometimes
taking the lead and sometimes blending into the background.
To create a community-wide commitment to youth, all the "players" need to
be an ensemble — working toward a common vision of what is needed to promote
the healthy development of young people.
Since 1993,
Search Institute has been working with communities toward
that vision, expanding upon a 30 year tradition of applied research into
youth development. In 1996, the institute launched a national Healthy Communities
• Healthy Youth (HC • HY) initiative to support communities in
their work. Based on Search Institute's framework of
Developmental Assets,
this initiative seeks to motivate and equip individuals, organizations, and
their leaders to join together in nurturing competent, caring and responsible
children and adolescents.
Over 500 counties, cities, towns and regions have been using
five action
strategies to guide their efforts.
Read About How Others are Building Assets in Their Community
The
Asset-Champion newsletter is what's going on in Healthy Communities•Healthy Youth initiatives across the country and across the world!
Learn More About Healthy Communities • Healthy Youth
Search Institute's Web site is filled with information related to the Healthy
Communities • Healthy Youth initiative. Here are some places to look:
