SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2017
Teens
from 1A
Wise said she felt that she was
attempting to fix a situation that was
caused by a system that had failed
early on.
“We’re trying to make sure peo-
ple don’t get there,” Davis said.
Wise agreed.
“I feel strongly that, if we want to
create a better future or a better
America, or even just a better com-
munity, we need to look at the chil-
dren,” she said. “They are the big
impact. In 10 years, your 8-year-old
is 18 and voting for everything. I
think a lot of people don’t realize
their kids are the biggest impact.”
Wise is looking to shape the teen
program with this point of view.
“I remember myself at 16, being
the oldest of seven kids,” Wise said.
“I was thinking I was already the
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adult. I had my license and my own
car. I would pick up groceries when
my mom would ask. I also had a
part-time job.”
Wise had all the responsibilities
of an adult, but none of the control
over her life.
She felt that she needed a fun
place that she could decompress
with her peers, get help with home-
work, find scholarship opportunities
and, most of all, have a sense of
control.
Wise believes that some of that
control can be gained with a legiti-
mate leadership role, one where
high schoolers can have an impact
on another person’s life.
“I’m hoping to bring in some
leadership roles into our program so
maybe teens can help with some of
our middle school kids,” she said.
Of course, sometimes the high
schoolers will need someone they
can rely on as well.
“I want to give them more adults
that aren’t their warden. My mom
couldn’t be my friend and my advo-
cate and my parent all in one. This
organization needs to have adults
that teens can come and talk to and
say, ‘Hey, if I wanted to rent a two-
bedroom apartment, how would I
do that?’”
These mentorship roles would
lead into other opportunities for the
students, such as teaching them how
to apply for a job and fill out a
resume, which could lead into the
different types of vocational activi-
ties the future could offer.
“We will have people come in
from the community and talk to
them about different subjects,” Wise
said.
But above all, Wise and Davis
want to make the experiences fun.
“In the high school, you feel like
you’re in a high school,” Wise said.
“No one liked high school. I don’t
care who you talked to, even the
popular kids. I want them to walk
into the door and go, ‘Wow, I want
to hang out on the couches here. I
feel safe, I feel cool, I feel open to
asking questions.’And I can put this
on my resume and I can learn. ...
Whether it’s something like learn-
ing to cook or volunteer, or where
kids can learn algebra, I want every
single kid that walks through my
door, whether they stay for years or
months, that they can say, ‘The
Boys and Girls Club gave me this.’
“And when they’re 70 years old,
they can look back and go, ‘The
Boys and Girls Club had impact.’”
For more information on Boys
and Girls Club of Western Lane
County and its programs, visit
bgcwlc.org or call 541-902-0304.
Living
trialization.
“I know the environmentalists
want to keep things very pristine
and very rural, but they’ve got to
decide what’s more important
right now,” Teter said. “Is it keep-
ing this town economically afloat,
or is it keeping things pristine?
There’s got to be a compromise
somewhere in there.”
There are also those who say
that assistance programs like SOS
and Florence Food Share are only
perpetuating the area’s problems
by enabling bad habits through
subsidization.
“We’ve had that comment over
and over again,” Teter said.
He, along with county and city
officials, believe the crisis is sys-
temic and will continue no matter
what care these organizations pro-
vide. They are merely slowing the
bleeding of a dying system.
To end the crisis, Teter believes
that people must make a funda-
mental change about how they
view the world.
“If the community wants this to
improve, they have to be willing
to allow people to make changes,”
he said. “When the city govern-
ment is talking to different busi-
nesses to bring in these living
wage jobs, they’ve got to be will-
ing to be supportive of that. We
have to start thinking community-
wide and community-minded.
“We’re all in this together.”
Editor’s note: For the next
seven weeks, the Siuslaw News
will be covering the housing and
financial crisis in the Siuslaw
region, speaking with representa-
tives from Lane County, City of
Florence, private businesses and
nonprofit agencies, with articles
published each Wednesday.
Because this is a community-
focused series, Siuslaw News
encourages the public to send in
stories relating to the crisis,
which may be posted online at
www.thesiuslawnews.com, or as
part of our ongoing series here
in the print edition of the news-
paper.
Submissions should be 400
words or less, and can be
emailed to nhickson@thesiuslaw
news.com.
from 8A
But affordable housing and
more living-wage jobs are getting
pushback from some members of
the community. Building busi-
nesses can bring up fears of indus-
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