Teen takeovers are a sign we need more spaces for young people

In this new opinion piece published by The Detroit News (full article requires subscription), MCYJ Executive Director Jason Smith, Georgetown Law’s Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative’s Director Kristin Henning and The Gault Center’s Executive Director Mary Ann Scali argue for solutions that provide young people with a voice in shaping the spaces they want to gather in, be in community with each other, and help young people find connection, belonging and purpose.

From the article: “Our success in achieving community safety depends as much on what we get wrong as what we get right. We won’t succeed if we sensationalize news stories to stoke fears about teen gatherings. We won’t get there by deprioritizing the basic social needs of our children and taking an ineffective, harsh and expensive approach when harm occurs. We fall even further from building community safety when implicit biases about youth of color drive our interventions, or when we demonize the many for the actions of a few.

“Our youth are telling us what they need from us. They need safety, yes. So do their families, neighbors and business owners. However, safety will not come from treating every gathering as a threat or every young person as a problem. It will come from listening early, investing consistently and building communities where young people have somewhere to go, something meaningful to do and someone supporting them when they get there.”