Youth advocates unite to help at risk children

10/28/05 - Helping America's Youth, a teleconference held by U.S. First Lady Laura Bush was broadcast yesterday at the University of Rhode Island Memorial Union.The event was an effort to bring together government officials, researchers, educators, parents and organizations to share their beliefs on what is helping make a difference in the lives of America's youth, and to generate new ways to help and propagate those ideas across the country.

"We all know that mothers and fathers are the most important influences in a child's life," Bush said. "Children whose parents show them love and support and stay active in their lives have an enormous advantage growing up. Yet too many children grow up in homes where one parent is absent, most often their father. Young people who grow up without their dads suffer a profound loss. And as I've traveled, I've been encouraged to meet so many young men who have suffered this loss, and, because of it, have resolved to be a good father to their own children. Some of these young fathers are with us today."

Other youth advocates spoke at the conference about at risk youth, and how to find and help the children that need it most.

Marguerite Salle, chairman of America's Promise, a children advocacy program and campaign, geared to promising children the safety and reliability they deserve from adults and parents, also spoke.

"With caring support systems, it has been proven that children are more likely to stay in school and stay on track," Salle said.

Salle added, "Putting one kid on the right track saves our country $2 million each year. That's how effective our program is."

America's Promise is currently reaching out to Hurricane Katrina victims in a project called Katrina's Kids.

"There are half a million young people who have been displaced and need a place. We are keeping our promise to these kids. We're opening day care programs, health programs, and educational programs. If anyone out there would like to help us, please reach out," Salle said.

Reverend Wintley Phipps of the U.S Dream Academy spoke specifically about children of incarcerated parents and how they are one of the most at risk and needy children of our society.

"There are millions of youth who go through prison gates to get a hug from their mom or dad," Phipps said.

Phipps added, "It is disturbing to know that 70 percent of those youth who go to prison have a parent in prison. The incarceration of a parent causes a youth to stop growing emotionally, followed by truancy, delinquency, and incarceration."

The U.S. Dream Academy reaches out to youth whose parents are incarcerated, and youth that are falling behind in school because of their family situations.

"The mentors we have play a critical role in the lives of these children. When someone gives themselves to a child, they give more than money can buy," Phipps said.