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any of the essential
things that Latino young
people need in order to thrive are
missing from their lives. That's
the conclusion ot a survey that
included 358 Latino sixth, eighth
and tenth grade students (as part
of a survey of 10.000 students
overall) w ithin M ultnom ah
County. The survey measured
the presence of 40 assets or
building blocks that all young
people need to grow up healthy,
caring and competent.
It's simple really. The more ot
these assets a child has, the more
likely that child will succeed. On
the other hand, young people
with the fewest assets generally
have the highest involvement in
drug abuse, crime, and other
dangerous behaviors. On aver­
age, as our survey revealed, local
Latino youth have only 18 of
these 40 assets, leaving them
vulnerable to many problems.
Now that we know that, what
do we do? Well, as this research
report reveals, you can do a great
deal. For example, most Latino
youth say their family provides
high levels of love and support
but few have other adult role
models. This is something com­
munity members can give to them.
Not enough Latino youth are mo-
M
A profile of Latino Youth was conducted by the Multnomah
Commission on Children & Families.
DEC. 23, 1998
it
tivated to do well in school, and
few say the school provides an
encouraging environment. In­
volvement in the schools can
change that environment. Latino
youth remain optimistic about
the future, yet only one in five
feels valued by the community.
As community members, we
need to let them know that we
do care. The Latino community
sees itself as a community with
extended families and now we
must use those families and com­
munity to help provide the sup­
port our young people lack.
What do we know about our
Latino youth? We know most
have hope. We know they value
honesty and accept personal re­
sponsibility. We know they are
concerned about promoting so­
cial justice and helping others in
their community.
Their inner strengths and at­
titudes contradict the myth that
young people simply don’t care.
Many are involved in commu­
nity service and their religious
communities, care about their
school, stand up for what they
believe in, and see a bright fu­
ture for themselves.
Latino youth continue to be­
lieve and to care and to hope
even as they lack the support
that can virtually guarantee suc­
cess.
Most Latino youth say they
don’t have positive adult role mod­
els. Most Latino youth say they
don’t know how to make choices
and plan ahead. Many say they
don’t feel that adults value them.
These are things adults can help to
fix.
Our youth need parents, rela­
tives, neighbors, schools, mem­
bers of the religious community,
and community members who
believe in them. They need adults
who will take the time to help
them succeed.
Through this survey, we dis­
covered that most of our young
people feel they have family sup­
port and love, but the majority
says their family doesn’t commu­
nicate well. Far too few feel the
community cares about their suc­
cess or failure. While young people
care about learning and we know
their school environment can have
an enormous impact on shaping
their skills and ambitions, too few
have adults who are involved in
their education.
On the average, our Latino
youth have just 18 of the 40 assets
they need, but if doesn’t have to
stay that way. There are things
we can do to provide our youth
with positive role models, and to
show our interest in the success
of every Latino young person.
The important research shows
that for our Latino young people
to succeed, we must take the time
to show them we care for them,
take the time to communicate with
them, and take the time to support
them. By doing so, we give our
youth the assets they need to suc­
ceed.
To order additional reports, call
the Take the Time Line at 503/
248-5066.
Augustana
Lutheran Church
NE 15th & K nott
C lo tt to UoyO C t n t t r /B r o t o w ,
Christmas Eve
Thursday. December 24
7 : 0 0 p .m . Candlelight Jazz/
Gospel Carol Service
Marilyn Keller. Ron Steen.
Kevin Deitz, Janice Scroggins
1 1 :0 0 pm Candlelight
Service w ith Choir & Belli
Music Team: Mark Huth.
Beverly North. Beverly J. Kindschuh
10:30 pm Christmas Concert
“Savior o f the Nations
Rev. W alter J. “ M ark-
Celebrating 92 years
2710 NE 14th *288-6174
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