Hoods, Yobs, and Access.

Hat tip to Richard for this link.

At first glance the refusal to allow a group of young people into a public space (which particularly wants to '...embrace it's broard community...' and '...generate a spirit of participation...') seems out of order.

Before I'd have pointed out that it's not all young people who are like this, just the minority.

But just recently I've been sitting talking with the librarian and security guard in a locked library, trying to advocate for the young people in the area who are banned from the building... all the whilst the young people concerned are intimidating the security guard and pulling up bollards. Sadly I've come to the conclusion it's true, the young men I currently work with have a long long way to go. The trouble is, I'm working in an area where this is the norm, not the minority, and I feel like I'm losing the faith that there is a way forwards for young people, especially when they're outside demonstrating backing up the points of the people who I'm trying to convince that actually they're a good bunch of young people.

I want to believe in the young people, I want to know that they are indeed 'good lads really'... but just now I don't know how to. When we work with them they're fab, they seem to be making good progress, they're engaging, participating, being pro-active, developing skills, and then the next day the bus stops are all smashed again, and the security guards are challenging me to explain why they behave the way they do if 'they're good lads really'.